Fourteen Days Bughead Fanfiction
by 0TheTownWithPep0
Summary: Two weeks. Fourteen days. Three hundred thirty-six hours. Time's running out before another body ends up in the river. And this time it's going to be Betty's. Rated T because Betty's kidnapped. Completed!
1. Chapter 1: Waves

**Chapter One : Waves**

"Come on, Jug!" Betty grinned, pausing at the edge of the Swimming Hole. She was in her swimsuit and Jughead was sliding off his shirt. Their other clothes laying carelessly on a rock.

Betty leaped in the water first, the hot sun too hot to bear any longer. School had ended only a week ago and the heat waves had started two days ago.

The cool water was a relief to her body and she swam farther from shore. Jughead jumped in next, landing in the water with a huge splash. Water droplets freckled Betty's face and she smirked at Jughead.

Diving underwater, Betty relished under the cool water. She stayed underwater for a moment before Jughead's strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her back up. Kicking her legs underwater, Betty wrapped her arms around Jughead's neck.

Since they were the only ones at the Swimming Hole, the water soon stilled, leaving Betty and Jughead holding each other as they kept themselves afloat by kicking their legs underwater. Affection glimmered in Betty's eyes and she pressed her lips to Jughead's.

The kiss was sweet and long, with Betty pulling away to look into Jughead's perfect green eyes. His eyes were like a forest she would get lost in any day.

It was silent for a moment as the two relaxed in each other's company, basking in each other's attention. When Jughead looked at Betty with a glint in his eye she felt her raise an eyebrow in confusion. "What?" she asked with a soft laugh.

"Just you, you're so beautiful." Jughead replied and Betty smiled warmly.

"As are you." The young woman teased and smiled widely before pushing away from him. Dipping her hands in the water, Betty splashed water into Jughead's face, laughing softly.

When water made contact with Jughead's face he grinned and started splashing water back. In a few moments, it was a full on water fight.

Betty winked at Jughead casually and for a moment, he stopped splashing to laugh at her tease. In his moment of pause, she dove under the water, swimming around him so she she was behind him. When his hands brushed against her shoulder, she knew she was close to him. Without warning, she leaped out of the water and tackled the young man in a hug.

Skillfully, Jughead slid Betty from his back to in front of him again and kissed her softly.

"I love you, Jughead." Betty grinned happily, kissing him back.

Jughead pulled away from the kiss slightly, "I love you too." Then he deepened the kiss. After a few moments, Betty pulled away again and started floating on her back, breathing in the warm summer smell.

"Jug?" she started, swimming back upright to look him in the eye. Jughead looked at her, uncertain what she was going to say.

"Hmm?"

"Can I read your novel?" She asked bluntly. Betty knew he had finished it, but he had never let her read it. "Please?"

Jughead looked skeptically for a moment and for a moment she was sure he was going to say no again. When he opened his mouth she quickly interrupted.

"I'll kiss you again if you say yes." Betty added and interest flickered across Jughead's face. Swimming over to Jughead and wrapping her arms around his neck again she looked him in the eye. Their lips were only a few inches away from each other now but she didn't kiss him yet.

"Alright then. Yes, you can read my novel." Jughead agreed and pressed his lips to hers.

* * *

The fire crackling in front of them, Betty rested her head against Jughead's shoulder. The beautiful flame danced gracefully in front of them, casting warm rays into the sky.

They were now sitting on a tree log and watching the fire with the night sky stretching over their heads.

"Today was great." Betty whispered and leaned into Jughead's warm body.

Wrapping his arm around the young woman, Jughead planted a soft kiss on Betty's forehead. "Agreed."

For once, it seemed everything was perfect.

The two sat together for a few more minutes before Betty sighed and looked over to Jughead. "We should head back." she murmured, looking at him.

When Jughead smiled warmly at her Betty felt a blush come to her cheeks.

"What?" She asked timidly, brushing a strand of loose hair from her eyes. When her fingers brushed against something soft she remembered she was wearing his beanie.

Jughead shrugged and stood up, holding out a hand to help her up. "You look gorgeous with my beanie on is all." He murmured and she felt her blush redden.

Grabbing his hand and standing up, Betty rolled her eyes. "Oh hush it." She whispered back as she picked up the water bucket. Tipping it over she watched as the water made contact with the fire and it was diminished in a heartbeat, causing smoke to start reaching for the night sky.

"Love you Betts." Jughead teased affectionately and Betty smiled widely.

"Love you too, Juggie."

With that, the two walked to the road where Jughead's motorcycle was parked. "Where to?" Jughead asked and handed Betty the helmet.

Tracing the crown shaped scrapes on the helmet, Betty sighed absentmindedly. It was at times like this when Betty just felt so lucky to have Jughead. "My house," she finally answered and put on the helmet. "Just don't kill us, okay?" she grinned and Jughead smirked.

"I'll try."

If only at the moment they both knew that a motorcycle would be be the worst of the worries in less than twenty-four hours.

* * *

A day had passed since Jughead and Betty's trip to the Swimming Hole and currently Betty was in her living room. Papers scattered across the table in front of her. Jughead's novel had been ready months ago but he had finally let her edit it before they tried to publish it.

"Okay… chapter four over here…" Betty mumbled to herself, stacking a few pages together.

She had been sorting for an hour now, and finally she stacked all the newly sorted piles together in order and put them in her bag. "Good." she murmured, proud of herself. When she printed the novel out, all the pages had gotten mixed up in the wrong order, and finally she had them back in order.

Leaving the bag on the couch, she stretched and sighed softly. Her gaze flickered over to the window and the setting sun. When her gaze flashed over to sudden movement outside, she narrowed her eyes in confusion. Who was outside their house at seven?

"Hello?" She started, walking to the back door and opening the door. Her gaze scanned over the backyard, stomach twisting in fear for some reason she couldn't place.

That's when she felt someone appear behind her and a rag covering her mouth and nose. Screaming on instinct, Betty suddenly felt her vision go blurry. To her growing despair, she realized she couldn't even mutter a single word. When her legs gave loose and she fell to the ground, she felt lean arms catch her and that's when her vision went black.

And just like that, Jughead's worst nightmare came alive.

* * *

_**A/N: Yay! New book! I'm looking for a beta reader now and I really hope you enjoy this book!**_


	2. Chapter 2: Irony

**Chapter Two : Irony**

Betty slowly regained consciousness but kept her eyes shut. Her eyelids felt heavy and her limbs were too tired to move. After a few moments, she slowly opened her eyes and scrunched her face up in confusion.

"What?" She muttered to herself, looking around. Wherever she was it, most of the lights were burning out, causing them to flicker. The walls were bleak gray and had streaks of missing paint.

Letting her gaze travel to where she was sitting, Betty saw that she was on the floor, with her hands tied up in rope behind her. A handcuff was cuffed her leg to a metal post on the wall. Shifting in discomfort, Betty's gaze flashed up when she heard footsteps walking down the stairway.

Her heart lurched when she saw who it was. "No…" she whispered in shock when the person paused in front of her.

"What? Surprised?"

Betty pursed her lips together and closed her eyes, trying to keep herself from having a panic attack. When a fist collided with her mouth she let a gasp of pain and gritted her teeth.

"Ironic, isn't it? How we're in this scenario." Betty opened her eyes as her kidnapper spoke, swallowing back a snide comment.

Blood trickling down her chin from her newly busted lip, Betty took a sharp breath. Pain seared through her body as she licked her injured lip. The blood tasted coppery and she narrowed her eyes as she focused her gaze on the person in front of her. "Go to h-" before she couldn't finish, a foot struck her stomach and she gasped for air. When the pain slowly faded, her kidnapped bent down and grabbed her chin.

"You better learn your place, wouldn't your boyfriend just hate if you were to… let's say… end up in Sweetwater river. Just. Like. Jason. Blossom."

Betty sucked in a ragged breath and stayed quiet. When he mentioned Jughead, her heart lurched in fear and rage for the person in front of her. Moving away so her chin wasn't in her kidnapper's filthy hands, Betty blinked back tears and nodded. "I'll learn my place."

At this moment, she made a solemn swear to herself that she would escape.

She just had to. For Jughead.

* * *

"Jughead? You listening?" Archie asked mildly, waving his hand to get Jughead's attention.

"Huh?" Jughead murmured, his train of thought slipping away from him as he turned to look at Archie.

Veronica rolled her eyes and looked away from Archie so she could focus her gaze on Jughead. "He was asking if you and B wanted to celebrate the fact that he isn't in jail for a crime he didn't commit." She asked with annoyance that she had to repeat her boyfriend's question.

"Oh, yeah sure. I'll ask Betty." the young man murmured and pulled out his phone.

"You okay, Jug? You seem distant." Archie asked, his arm draped around Veronica's shoulder.

Jughead glanced up from his phone and shrugged slightly. "Yeah, I just texted Betty a while ago and she hasn't replied."

Veronica frowned softly and grabbed the phone from Jughead's hands. To his surprise, she entered the correct password without hesitation. Making a mental note to change his password, he waited for Veronica's reaction. Scanning over the messages, Veronica blinked in thought. "Weird. She always replies right away." she commented and Jughead rolled his eyes. He already knew that.

**Jughead: I'm heading over to Archie's, want to come with? Veronica will be there. **_**(Sent at 7:28PM)  
**_

**Betts: Sure, let me finish sorting you're book chapters **_**(Sent at 7:29 PM)**_

**Jughead: I'm at Archie's want me to come get you? **_**(Sent at 8:02 PM)**_

**Jughead: Finished sorting? (Sent at 8:31 PM)**

"Can I have my phone back?" Jughead asked mildly, clearly Betty had just fallen asleep or something. Besides, it wasn't her job to answer his text messages.

Handing the phone back to Jughead, Veronica looked to Archie with a slightly worried look. It had been twenty minutes since Jughead's last message and as much as he tried, he couldn't push away his increasing sense of panic.

"How about we just go over to her house. I mean, she lives next door." Archie offered and stood up, holding his hand out for Veronica, who took it and stood up.

"I don't know. She doesn't _have_ to be here." Jughead murmured but got to his feet anyways.

Ignoring Jughead altogether, Veronica kissed Archie and smiled. "Good idea."

"Guys-" Jughead started but Veronica shot him a look to be quiet.

"Alright. You go, we'll stay here." The young woman compromised and Jughead gave a slight nod of agreement. The last thing he wanted was to be the third wheel any longer.

"Fine. Wait, she just messaged." he commented and looked down at his phone. As Jughead read**,** his gaze darkened in anger and worry.

**Betts: It's time you and Betty pay for what you have done to me. **_**(Sent at 8:53 PM)**_

"Jug, what is it?"

Unable to focus on anything other then the message, Jughead ignored the question completely. His heart caught in his throat and he felt horror and rage burn in his mind. Someone might have Betty. Betty might be in danger.

"Jug."

He ignored the speaker once again as he quickly left the room, when he reached the stairs, he took two at a time, practically running. Jughead ignored Fred when Archie's dad started to say something, he had to get to Betty's house. Swinging the door open, he raced across Archie's yard to the Cooper's house.

The first sign that something was wrong was the front door's lock was busted and the door was wide open. Jughead heart sank when he entered the house and was greeted by silence. The second sign that something was wrong was back door was also slightly open and Betty's bag lay half shut on the couch. Betty would never leave her stuff out.

"Betty!" he called out, hoping his voice sounded stronger then he felt.

When there was no answer, he sucked in a shaky breath. His Betty was gone.

He needed to find her.

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, short. They should start getting longer after this. Comment who you think has Betty!**


	3. Chapter 3: Guilty

**Chapter Three : Guilt**

Betty bit her lip in deep thought as she twisted her hands around. The rope was tight, but cheap, she could break out. She had to. Digging her nail into the rope, she started clawing into it, ignoring the burn in her wrist at how much her hands were twisted.

"Almost… there." she hissed to herself, teeth gritted as she dug a nail into the rope and started scraping into it. Little by little, minutes flew by and the rope splintered before breaking and letting her arms falls free.

Hope flared in Betty's chest and she stood up, hand pressed against the wall to sturdy herself. Her body was still weak from whatever her kidnapper had used to knock her out. Once she regained herself, she took in her surroundings for a split second.

The stairway was the most obvious escape plan, but he could be upstairs. If she got caught… Betty shivered in horror and looked for another escape route.

Her eye caught on a window, she would have to break the glass. Was that even possible? Hurrying over to the wall with the window, she looked up at the window. She would have to climb just to get to the small gap in the basement wall.

Gripping the ledge, Betty could feel the cool glass against her fingertips. Escape was so close. For a moment, she was hopeful.

She didn't hear the footsteps, until hands gripped her waist and flung her away from the window. Betty first instinct was to defend herself, but with her body and mind still unreliable and fuzzy and the fact that the man could kill her, she went limp. Betty's body hit the hard cemented ground with a thump. She winced in pain as she looked at her elbows, which were now scraped and bleeding slightly.

"What were you trying to do?" The man hissed, eyes flashing with a dangerously crazy look. Betty felt her heartbeat faster.

Thoughts flashing across her mind for what to say, Betty was stuck with a whimper as an answer. "I'm sorry… Chic please…"

Chic stalked over and kicked her in the stomach, smiling as the wind was knocked from her. Mouth gaping in search for air, Betty felt tears sting the corner of her eyes. She felt light headed and unable to breath. Like there was a hand on her throat, keeping her from breathing.

"You know what? I'm gonna take pity on you. A trade will be in order."

Finally Betty was able to breath and when she figured out she could, she was gasping for oxygen. Her exhausted but still defiant eyes trained on Chic with an emotionless look.

"Jughead will have fourteen days to decide. It's going to be you who ends up in Sweetwater river, or him." Betty felt the color drain from her face.

Betty was still on the floor, hunched over and now crying. "No… don't hurt Jughead…" She pleaded, breathing coming out in pants of fear.

Chic just smiled. "You're going to write a letter to him, explaining the rules. And if you try to get away with anything, he'll end up in river and you'll watch it happen. Understand?"

Betty nodded.

"Good." He pulled out a paper and pen, setting it on the floor in front of Betty. "Write."

Betty nodded.

Then she wrote, wheels turning in her mind. She had the choice but no matter what it could end in death. Chic was playing her, manipulating her. Still, she wrote. Tears falling onto the paper as she did so.

When she had finished, Chic picked up the paper and skimmed across it. Every moment or two he glanced at Betty skeptically before he scoffed. "For a journalist, you're a horrible writer."

And so Betty gritted her teeth, and nodded.

* * *

When Jughead had searched everything, he had fallen to the ground. He had hit the floor with a thud and anger had burned inside of him. Tears burned in his eyes and he had brought his chest to his knees.

Then Archie and Veronica had ran in.

Archie had put his hand on Jughead's shoulder and Jughead snapped. He had jumped up and pushed Archie away from him. Veronica had yelled in confusion and anger but he had ignored her.

The only thing that was the same from when Jughead found out to a day later, was the fact that Betty was still in danger. Possibly hurt. Possibly… gone.

"Jughead." Fred murmured, shaking Jughead's shoulder. Jughead looked up, his eyes dull. "Do you want something to eat? Or drink?" There was a hopeful look in Fred's eyes and Jughead couldn't help but despise him in that moment. How dare he be hopeful? Nobody should be hopeful when Betty was gone.

Still, he just shook his head and looked back down to him phone as he read through his and Betty's text messages. Whoever had her and clearly destroyed the phone and hadn't left any messages since.

"Jughead. You're crying. Do you want a tissue?" Jughead didn't bother to look up at Veronica's voice.

"No."

_Guilty: __culpable of or responsible for a specified wrongdoing._ That summed up how Jughead was feeling. He had no appetite, for once in his life. He felt no emotion. He just felt empty without her safe.

"Jug!" Archie's voice sounded tense but not in a pitying way. In a freaked out way. Jughead looked up at Archie, who had a letter in his hand.

Grabbing the letter out of his friend's hands, Jughead examined the ruffled paper. It was dirty and torn in places, the writing was in pen and was slightly visible even though it was folded. On the front in big words,** FOURTEEN DAYS** was written in dark blue ink.

Jughead felt his heart flip and sink and then flip again. He was drowning in his guilt and grief. Shakily, he unfolded the letter and read.

* * *

_Juggie~_

_Hi. Everything looks pretty abhorrent. Listen, I'm very elegiac. Hope ur ready… the caretaker holds injurious cutting item. Never work alone. Read everything. Haste. Observe. Ur special. Everything. _

_You have fourteen days or I end up in the river. He says it's either you or me. Please don't choose me. _

_Don't forget about me. I love you._

_~Love, Betty_

* * *

Jughead's eyes narrowed. It was her writing. Still, the first paragraph just seemed so poorly written. Betty never abbreviated 'Your' to 'Ur'. Panic and grief burned in his heart. She must be delirious, either from blood loss or pain. Tears trickled down his cheeks, falling on the paper, falling beside the other dots of water on the paper. Her tears.

Archie hugged Veronica, the raven haired Latina burying her face in her boyfriend's shoulder and her body shook slightly.

Looking back to the note, Jughead let his gaze travel over every line. Every curve in her perfect handwriting. He examined the way she wrote his name, eyes blurry with tears. "I love you too Betty." he whispered.

"What?" Veronica asked, and Jughead glanced up. He shook his head to explain he wasn't talking to her. She nodded and composed herself, trying to brush the tears from her eyes casually and secretly.

Jughead looked back down the note and something surged inside of him. Something compelling and sure. He was going to find out who had her and where. No matter what. Enough moping. She was alive for now. He had two weeks. He had fourteen days. He had three hundred and thirty-six hours. He would find her or he would make the sacrifice and give himself up.

And so he planned.

* * *

Veronica flew open the Pembroke's doors and rushed in. Tears made her face red and blotchy, not even makeup could hide the tears now. Her best friend, the one person who saw the good in her because she understood, the one person who chose to be her friend just because. Veronica wasn't even sure Archie could just be her friend and not her boyfriend.

"Veronica, what's going on?" Hermione questioned, rushing up to her daughter.

Veronica wrapped her mother in a fierce hug and the tears started again. They clouded her vision, once again letting her makeup run farther down her face and chin.

"Betty- she's missing. We think she's…. She's been… been kidnapped…" she barely choked out the last words. Hermione tensed up at her daughter's words before hugging her daughter tighter to comfort her.

"We'll find her…" the mother whispered, keeping Veronica close. In that moment Veronica felt like a child, holding onto her mother and hoping things could fix themselves. But she knew. This wasn't one of those times. So instead of feeling comforted, she cried.

And cried.

* * *

Archie kept the truck parked as he watched Veronica try and walk to the hotel entrance with dignity. But he saw her running for the elevator the moment she entered the building. Archie knew she was hurting. He saw the man at the front desk call after her and Veronica call something back, causing the man to stop rigidly and turn away.

Once everyone was gone and Archie was alone. He slammed his fists against the steering wheel, cursing loudly. The car shook at his hit and he sucked in a breath. Resting his head on the wheel, he felt his body shake as he was racked with emotion and tears.

One of his best friends were gone.

Archie felt tears lodge themselves in his throat as he brought his head up, void of any emotion other than anger. He was going to knock the person who took her down dead if Jughead didn't.

Brushing a hand through his red hair, Archie clenched his fists and swore loudly once again. His fists were then brought down on the arm rest and he felt anger surge through him.

Reminding himself that he needed to go to the gym before he broke his truck, Archie started the truck up and started driving. And he drove.

And drove.

* * *

And all of them hoped.

Betty for Jughead.

Jughead for Betty.

Veronica for good news.

Archie for justice.

* * *

_**A/N: YIKES, so tell me what you think of everybody's point of view in one chapter. If you guys like it, I might keep doing it... if not I'll stop... Thank you for reading! Great job if you guessed Chic! Give yourself a high five! What do you think is with Betty's weird note? **_


	4. Chapter 4: Twelve Days

**Chapter Four : Twelve Days**

Betty was laying on the floor of the basement, head, and limbs resting against the cold cement. Hunger gnawed in her stomach, making her hiss in pain. She had gone roughly three days without food or water. Her throat burned in need of water. Chic had untied her hands but her legs were still handcuffed.

Still, Betty didn't need anything to hold her down. Her energy was gone and she needed substance and water if she were to keep living.

When she heard his footsteps, Betty swallowed back a wail.

"You gave me to the Black Hood. To be killed." Chic muttered, rage tinting his voice.

Betty felt her stomach twist. Chic was in a bad mood, which could only mean one thing. She had a swollen purple bruise on her hip to prove it.

"I'm sorry," Betty whispered, her voice sounding raspy with lack of water.

"You are now. I doubt you were once you did it though. You're only sorry because you're in danger." His voice was rising, growing madder by the minute. Chic paused in front of Betty's cowering shape. "Drink. Can't have you dying yet," he growled, a water bottle falling on the floor beside Betty.

She pursed her lips and took the bottle in her hands. She was trembling now, nerved by Chic's presence. Taking off the lid, she brought the drink to her lips, drinking the water. It felt cool against her throat.

"I believe a thank you is in order," Chic growled, glaring down at Betty.

"Go to hell," Betty growled back after she had drunk the water. Now that she was feeling refreshed, her defiance was back.

Anger coursed in Chic's face and he bent down, practically shaking from rage as he faced Betty. "I thought you learned," he growled. "But I'm glad you haven't."

Betty closed her eyes tightly as Chic's fist flew into her face. Blood seeped from her nose down her face and she felt tears prick at her eyes. Before Chic could kick her, she rolled over slightly so his shoe hit her shoulder instead of her stomach or ribs.

When Chic flashed his fist towards her, she felt pain burn in her face and then her gaze went black. Her body went limp and she was left lying there, unconsciousness and bleeding.

* * *

Jughead was hunkered over on the couch in the trailer, head in his hands. Toni was leaning against a wall with Cheryl beside her, Fangs was sitting on the couch beside Jughead and Sweet Pea was on the other couch.

"Why are you guys here?" Jughead asked, looking up at the others with a tired expression. He needed to be alone so he could think of a way to save Betty.

It was quiet for a moment before Toni finally spoke up, "Jughead, listen. You haven't left this trailer in two days. We're worried-"

"-No! I'm worried! About Betty! She's been missing for _three _days, and the only clues we have is a note she wrote when she was delirious and a text message from the day she was taken! Why shouldn't I be worried?" Jughead was yelling now. Getting up he ran his hand through his hair, which was missing his usual beanie.

Everyone looked down awkwardly, and Sweet Pea blew out a breath.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Now all of you get the hell out!" When nobody moved anger welled in Jughead. "Now!" he shouted.

Toni made a move to leave but Cheryl grabbed her girlfriend's shirt and pulled her back to where Toni had been standing before. "Don't," Cheryl muttered under her breath to Toni. When Jughead spun around to face Cheryl she took a deep breath. "Okay, listen. First, don't yell at my girlfriend- or me. Secondly, you're in horrible shape." When Jughead opened his mouth to interfere she shook her head. "No, listen to me. I understand Betty is in danger. We are all worried about her! For goodness sakes, she's my cousin!" Cheryl put a hand on Jughead's shoulder, who looked away. "You got to let us help you."

Jughead was silent for a moment. As was everyone else. Toni had a small smile on her face and Jughead assumed it was because of her love of Cheryl. Jughead felt grief burn in his heart, all he wanted to do was be able to smile at how amazing Betty was.

"Alright. Fine. You can help." Jughead said belatedly, sitting back down on the couch. The tenseness of the scenario calmed down and Cheryl smiled in contentment.

"Can we see the letter from Betty?" Sweet Pea asked and Jughead nodded numbly, giving the paper to the young man. He felt like a failure. For all his talk about being a genius at crime solving, the moment something dreadful happened to someone he actually cared about, he went blank.

"This first paragraph is weird." Commented Fangs, who had moved over along with Toni and Cheryl to Sweet Pea.

"Yeah, I know. She was delirious from pain." Jughead replied numbly, anger flickering across his mind. They weren't helping. They were pointing out the obvious.

"No, because her other paragraph is normal. I think… I think there's some sort of meaning to this." Toni murmured and Jughead looked up, towards them. Arching an eyebrow in confusion Jughead sucked in a breath. What if Toni was right?

Cheryl looked over to Toni and kissed her quickly. "You're a genius, TT. Let's see...haste… maybe she's trying to say to hurry…"

"Yeah, clearly. But what does 'Everything' mean?" Sweet Pea asked his face scrunching up in thought.

"I don't know..." Jughead whispered, putting his head in his hands. "It could mean anything."

Cheryl sighed in defeat and Jughead felt relieved that someone understood how he felt.

"What about elegiac, what does that mean?" Toni asked, biting her lip.

"It's a lament for the dead." the young man replied dully. "And abhorrent means a place that's disgusting. Meaning it could be anywhere." Jughead whispered and felt tears prick at his eyes.

"Everything…" Cheryl whispered to herself. "Read everything…" The trailer was silent as they all tried to figure out what the note meant. Or if it meant anything at all. "Her room… her house… where could she have left a clue that you have to read right before she got kidnapped?" Cheryl asked, and Jughead could see the rising excitement in her eyes and posture.

"My book!" Jughead gasped, and everyone looked at him in confusion. "I gave Betty my book to edit. She was editing it right before she stopped messaging me!" Hope was now fresh on his mind and Sweet Pea put the note on the counter.

"Then let's go to her house and read those edits." Jughead grinned feeling a wave of hope crash against him.

"Tomorrow, for now, you need to rest Jughead," Toni added and Jughead nodded reluctantly.

Hope: want something to happen or be the case. His friends might have just solved his problems. He was finally waking up from his nightmare.

Then why did he feel hesitant?

* * *

Veronica was wearing her glasses as she looked at the pictures of her and Betty on her phone. When Archie went missing, she at least knew how to get him back, and who had him. When Archie was kidnapped, at least she could do something.

Now she just felt useless.

When her phone buzzed with a message, she read it with a somber look in her eyes. To her surprise, it was both a picture and a message, from Archie.

**Archie: this is the letter betty wrote jughead **_**(Sent at 8:09 PM)**_

**Archie: *IMAGE* **_**(Sent at 8:09 PM)**_

Pressing onto the image, interest flickered across her face. Once she read it she dropped the phone on her bed. The note had about as much importance as Veronica did right now. None.

Tears bubbled in her vision and the young woman took off her glasses to brush her tears away. Looking out the window, Veronica stared at the dark night sky. "Betty, if you're out there. Please… please know that we'll find you…" She whispered before wincing at the sound of a knock at her door.

"One moment!" She called out and quickly wiped her eyes so the tears were gone. She had to at least act strong. If she was useless when it came to solving the mystery, she could at least act strong so others would follow her lead and be strong too. "Alright, come in!" she added and sat down on her bed.

When the door opened, Archie stepped in and smiled sheepishly at Veronica. Veronica huffed in relief that it wasn't her parents. She didn't want them to suddenly act like they were the best parents ever and comfort her. It just made her feel even more incompetent.

"Hey Ronnie," Archie murmured and Veronica stood up, rushing into his arms. His muscular arms hugged her back as she shook with sadness. So much for being strong. "I came to see how you were but it seems you are just as lost as I am." Archie chuckled but there was no humor in his tone.

"I'm glad you came," Veronica whispered resting her head on his strong shoulders. For once she didn't comment on how muscular or handsome he was. It just seemed wrong at a time like this.

They hugged for a few moments longer before Archie pulled away and held Veronica's chin in his hand. "You know I'm here for you right?" he asked and she smiled softly.

"Yes." Then she kissed him, wanting her feeling of uselessness and despair to be forgotten, even if just for an hour. The kiss started soft then grew passionate. Veronica cupped Archie's cheeks as she deepened the kiss, her hands roamed to his shirt before he suddenly pulled away.

"We can't," Archie started as he looked away. Veronica sighed and nodded, soothing her shirt down. "I'm sorry it's just-"

"-No, I understand. I just wanted to forget." Veronica interrupted hastily and sat down on her bed.

"I have a different idea. Come to Pop's with me. We'll talk, about Betty. I know forgetting sounds easier but we need to… cover all the bases you know?" He started and Veronica looked up, a smile playing on her face.

"Cover all the bases?" She asked with amusement, and Archie laughed softly.

"Deal with a situation thoroughly," Archie explained and Veronica stood up, kissing him softly.

"Always with the sports metaphors, isn't that right Archie Andrews?" She asked, raising an eyebrow as she put on a jacket. When Archie laughed again she looked at herself in the mirror. "Good god I look like a mess. I need to do my powder. Then we'll go. Wait outside for me?" she asked and Archie nodded.

"Sure."

* * *

Stepping outside of Veronica's bedroom, Archie ran his hand through his hair. His anger had suppressed after his trip to the gym. Reverting to boxing to calm himself, Archie visited the gym daily now. His knuckles were bruised and red from how hard he had hit the punching bag two hours before but they didn't hurt.

Nothing could hurt more than losing Betty and seeing Veronica grieving.

Pulling out his phone as he thought of Jughead, Archie typed in a message. The least he could do was so how Jughead was doing. Archie had stayed away from the young man ever since they had found out, Archie just felt too… guilty to face him.

**Archie: you okay man? **_**(Sent at 8:32 PM)**_

**Jug: Yeah, we might have figured something out. I'll explain later. **_**(Sent at 8:33 PM)**_

Archie felt hope flicker through him as he read Jughead's message. Jughead had solved something. Things were going to work out. Right?

"Ready lover boy?" Veronica asked and Archie quickly put his phone away as he turned to Veronica. He didn't want to tell her in case whatever Jughead found out wasn't helpful. Archie didn't want her to get her hopes up just to have them crushed.

"Absolutely. Let's go and run interference," said Archie, breaking out another sports reference. They seemed to make Veronica laugh and that's all he wanted. To make her feel better in a time where everything was going wrong.

When Veronica smiled and hit him on the shoulder as she laughed he knew he had succeeded in his plan to make her feel better. Things were getting better.

* * *

And while three of them felt hopeful, Betty was left bleeding on the cement floor, clinging to life.

* * *

**A/N: Done. Wow, it's like 4 AM and I'm exhausted... xD Do you think Jughead is onto something? And do you think Betty is going to pull through?**


	5. Chapter 5: Eleven Days

**Chapter Five : Eleven Days**

Betty had slipped in and out of consciousness for the next few hours. So far the longest she had been able to stay consciousness was one hour and counting.

Propped against the stone wall, she pushed herself up so she could breathe correctly. Being slouched for over forty-five minutes she was finally able to take deep breaths by sitting up.

When she heard Chic's footsteps she closed her eyes and let herself slip into a slouch. Maybe if he thought she was unconscious he wouldn't hurt her, again.

When Chic's footsteps neared her she kept her breathing light and sluggish. Chic paused in front of her before she could hear him turn around and walk. Once his footsteps faded to upstairs, Betty opened her eyes again.

Looking at herself she flinched as she saw her own wounds. She had black bruises coating her arms, hips, and shoulder. Blood spotted her swollen skin as well. She would've cried but she couldn't bring herself to anymore. When she tried to pull her legs up to her stomach she felt the tug of metal at her feet and remembered her feet were handcuffed and she let her legs go slack.

Then a white cloth on the floor caught her eye, she picked it up. It was damp with warm water. Chic must have left it. Holding it to her bleeding shoulder, Betty took a few deep breaths as she tried to diminish her lightheadedness.

The rag felt amazing against her wounds and she brought it to her forehead, dabbing her skin tenderly. When she looked at the rag, she noticed only then that she had been bleeding from her forehead as well. Trying to remember when she had been hit in the head she blinked slowly. Betty genuinely didn't know.

She just felt numb with a distant aching pain.

* * *

Jughead parked his motorcycle in Betty's driveway and took his helmet off. Hanging the helmet on his handlebars, Jughead looked over at the other Serpents. Each Serpent had their own motorcycle, making there five motorcycles parked outside Betty's house. It was almost suspicious, five motorcycles parked outside the 'perfect family's' house.

Opening the door, he entered Betty's house. The lights were off, and when he tried to flick them on, they stayed off. Deeming the lights burned out, Jughead made his way to the counter where he had seen his book chapters in a bag.

He and the other Serpents searched through every single page for two hours and came up with nothing. The pages had been marked with numbers in the right corners labeling the different chapters. That was all Betty had ended up writing on the pages.

"A bust," Toni growled as she tossed the pages she was holding onto the counter.

Jughead set his jaw as he looked down at the papers in his hands. He was shaking now, sucking in a breath the young man stood up, dropping the papers on the counter as well.

"Jughead… we'll find something out…" Fangs murmured and Jughead shook his head.

Jughead sucked in a breath once again and ran his hand through his hair. "No, not us. I will. I want you all to go." His voice was cold and serious.

When Cheryl opened her mouth Jughead shook his head. "No. I want you to go. Thank you for your help, but it didn't help. Now just leave."

The Serpents stood up and walked out without another word. Once they were gone, Jughead fell into the couch, staring at the wall with emptiness to her gaze. A knot of vines seemed to form in his stomach, spreading upwards and gripping his heart tightly. Slowly choking him.

Looking up to the sky, Jughead did the one thing he was sure he would never to in his life.

"Please, I'll do anything if you bring Betty back to me. I'll never again break any laws if you just let her live." he pleaded to whoever was of a higher power above. Jughead didn't even believe in god, but he just wanted Betty to be safe.

"Please let Betty live." Jughead murmured, tears slipping down his cheeks. He hated crying, but losing Betty was the worst possible thing in his life.

Pulling out his phone, he messaged Archie to tell him their search was a bust.

**Jughead: We didn't find anything. **_**(Sent at 9:16 AM)**_

**Arch: thats horible im sorry man**_** (Sent at 9:17 AM)**_

**Arch: horrible* **_**(Sent at 9:17 AM)**_

**Jughead: Yeah. **_**(Sent at 9:17 AM)**_

**Arch: This is Veronica, me and Archie and busy ttyl **_**(Sent at 9:18 AM)**_

Jughead read over the text, narrowing his eyes before he suddenly gasped in surprise. Abbreviations. Talk to you later could be shown as ttyl.

His hand went for his pocket before he realized her letter was at the trailer. "Veronica you are a genius," Jughead mumbled to himself, racing out of the house and to his motorcycle. The first paragraph was a message. "No- Betty you're a genius."

Jughead made it to the trailer in less than thirty minutes, parking in front of the place and leaping off. He took his helmet off quickly and left it on the motorcycle seat before he raced up the stairs and into the trailer.

Hope twirled in Jughead's heart when he saw the letter on the table. Rushing over he grabbed a pen as he passed the small kitchen. Once he had the pen, he kneeled down in front of the table.

He read through the first paragraph, writing down the first letter of each word.

**HELPALIVEHURTCHICINWAREHOUSE**

Jughead placed a dot after every word he was sure was there, biting his lip in excitement.

** . . .**

"Oh my god…" the young man whispered, shaking his head when it all added up. He read the words once, jaw twitching in rising anger. Reading them again, he felt his hands clench and he sucked in a sharp breath.

"Chic, you're a dead man." He hissed, dropping the pen and pulling out his computer. He needed to find every warehouse near and in Riverdale.

Within moments he was typing away as he searched for every single warehouse in the vicinity.

_He was going to find her._

* * *

"Veronica, do you think we'll find her?" Archie asked, putting an arm around the young woman. They were both sitting on Archie's bed, Veronica having stayed over after they had a talk at Pop's the night before.

"Ugh, enough feeling talk Archie," Veronica mumbled, as she blinked her eyes open.

When Archie's phone buzzed, Veronica, let out an exasperated sigh of frustration. Brushing her black hair from her face, she glanced over at Archie's face.

"It's Jughead." he sighed, shaking his head in sadness.

"What happened with him?" The Latina asked, closing her eyes again. She was tired and she just wanted to sleep away her aching grief about having Betty gone. Worst summer ever.

"He thought something would help but it didn't…"

Veronica shook her head and grabbed the phone from Archie's hand after Jughead messaged him again. "This is dumb, don't let this awkward conversation go on."

**Jug: Yeah. **_**(Sent at 9:17 AM)**_

**Archie: This is Veronica, me and Archie and busy ttyl **_**(Sent at 9:18 AM)**_

"There, problem solved." She mumbled, dropping the phone on the floor. "Now let's just sleep…" Veronica whispered, putting her hand on her forehead and laying her head on the pillow.

"Actually, I'm going to the gym…" Archie murmured and Veronica moved her hand to open her eyes and look at him in surprise.

"Archiekins. Please, stop hurting yourself. Betty isn't gone because of you…" She whispered, grabbing his hands and looking at his swollen knuckles.

Archie shook his head, getting off the bed. "No… it is. I'm supposed to protect her! I live next door to her and she was kidnapped while I was one house away. I should've been there for her." he growled, a dark look overtaking him and making Veronica flinch away.

"Stop yelling," Veronica whispered, putting her hand on his.

Pulling his hand away, Archie shook his head. "No. You don't understand. It's my fault!" his voice tone rose by the second until he was practically yelling. "My fault she gone!" Grabbing a jacket, he slung it over his shoulder and stormed over to the door.

Veronica watched with her eyes narrowed in grief. "Please, you have to understand-"

"-Shut up, Veronica." Archie snapped and she clamped her jaw shut, feeling like she had been slapped. Anger coursed through and she got up, slipping her heels on and stalking over to her boyfriend. His jaw was set in anger and she clenched and unclenched her fists.

Slapping him across the face she shook her head. "I know you're hurting Archie. But don't you dare take it out on me. Understand? Now get this through your thick skull, either you stop being Dark Archie or we're done." with that she left the room, leaving him staring after her with a stunned look.

Fighting back tears, Veronica walked down the stairs, ignoring Fred as she slammed the door shut behind her.

She was not going to be pushed aside and yelled at like some dog.

That wasn't her.

* * *

When she slapped him, Archie had froze. When she ridiculed him, he arched his eye in confusion. When she left, he closed his eyes tightly.

Archie just wanted everything to be a dream. Why couldn't he just wake up to see Betty leaving her house to go visit Jughead as he kissed Veronica as a good morning? Looking down at his knuckles, Archie took a shaky breath.

Shocked was an understatement when Veronica told him to stop hurting himself, he had snapped. Then she yelled at him and he just went blank. He wasn't totally sure what he had done wrong. Veronica went out to shop and spend thousands of dollars when she was angry, why couldn't he go to the gym?

Shaking his head, Archie blew out a breath and put on his jacket, still numb as he tried to find out what had happened.

All Archie knew was that he needed to get to the gym. He could feel his anger and grief rising inside him again and he needed to get rid of it. All he had to do when he went boxing was the picture he was fighting Betty's kidnapper. Archie felt sadness flash across him at the thought of Betty.

Why did she have to be taken?

Betty was an angel. She only did what was best for everyone. She was perfect. No, perfect was an understatement. She was even better than perfect, why couldn't it be Archie who was taken?

Archie deserved it. He had lied and hurt others. He had ruined relationships and done horrible things in his life. Why couldn't he have been taken?

He just felt so guilty.

Walking outside of his room, he walked downstairs, thoughts about Betty still clogging his mind.

"Hey bud, everything all right with Veronica?" Fred asked as Archie walked downstairs.

"I don't know," was all Archie muttered as he closed the door behind him. Fred threw his hands up in the air in defeat and went back to his call with the Sheriff. "Could be anything," Archie muttered to himself as he walked over to his dad's truck.

As Archie got in his truck, he looked for Jughead's motorcycle but when it wasn't there he just shook his head. He felt bad. Jughead must be hurting almost as much as Archie was.

When Archie turned the truck on, he saw the car that Betty had been fixing along with him and his dad. Their project had been paused when Betty went missing. Sadness pierced Archie again, mixing with the rage he held for everything that was wrong in his life.

He was going to kill whoever hurt Betty.

* * *

Betty just felt pain.

Jughead was full of hope.

Veronica was haunted by grief.

And Archie was falling deeper and deeper into a pit of rage.

* * *

**A/N: How do you feel about Betty's secret message in her note? Do you think she's gonna last much longer?**


	6. Chapter 6: Nine Days

**Chapter Six : Nine Days**

Betty's eyes fluttered open when she heard Chic walk down the stairs. Her hand drifted to her forehead and surprise rippled through her when she felt a wrap around her head. Her fingers tugged on it slightly, feeling the gauze.

"I couldn't have you dying yet. When you do die I want to drown you, I want to watch the light fade from your eyes. Just as I saw your brother's life fade from his." Chic spoke cunningly as he paused in front of her.

Anger coursed through her at her brother's mention but she just nodded. "Thank you for the wrap…" she whispered weakly. All defiance had been drained out of her, leaving her only with a deflated will to live.

Chic grinned at her acceptance and Betty felt her stomach crawl. It had been days since she sent out the letter to Jughead. It was only a matter of time before he found the secret meaning and found the warehouse basement she was in.

"Come on, get up."

Betty looked up at the young man with confusion. "Why?" she asked, biting her lower lip as her heartbeat increased.

"We've been here too long, we have to move," Chic explained and raised an eyebrow in expectancy. "Get up."

Bringing herself to her feet, she looked down at the handcuff attached to her foot. The small amount of will she had to live was diminishing by the second. If they moved how would Jughead know where she was?

Chic bent down and entered the key in the lock, unlocking the latch as it unclicked from Betty's foot. It a split second, Betty shook her foot. When she was positive she could handle running she brought her gaze to Chic. Kneeing him in the groin she watched as he doubled over in gasping pain. The moment he was struck she raced up the stairs.

As she ran up the stairs, she slid the bracelet Jughead got her off her wrist and watched it fall on a step. If Jughead found this place, he had to know she had been there.

Once she was upstairs, Betty looked around for a way out. Instead of an unlocked door, her gaze caught a cellphone on a table. Her phone. Running over to the table, she quickly switched the phone to silent and held it her hands. When she heard footsteps racing up the stairs, she quickly put the phone in her bra and backed away from the table.

"You'll pay for this, Betty!" Chic yelled, spitting her name out like it was poison.

Betty raced away from him but her legs were still weak from lack of use and she stumbled slightly as she ran. When his calloused hands gripped the young woman's arm she gasped in surprise when she was yanked backward. She struggled against his grip, and for a moment she was sure she'd be free. Then a needle pricked into her neck and she felt her eyes flicker before they shut.

Then her body went limp and Chic grabbed her with his lean arms. While Betty fought for consciousness, she felt herself be picked up and carried. That's when she gave up and drifted into the darkness.

* * *

Jughead's fingers raced over the keyboard as he typed away. So far he had searched for every warehouse within a fifty-mile radius of Riverdale. He had found eleven and only four were in business.

Currently, he had a map to everyone the warehouses out of business downloading to his phone. The download was at eighty percent. As he waited, he clicked open a new tab, an empty document. His fingers hovered over the keyboard as he bit his lip. For days he had been trying to get himself to write about the incident but every time he opened the document, he was overcome with emotions.

_Betty Cooper, once portrayed as the perfect daughter from the perfect family now Riverdale's very own detective. Some may say she has a perfect life still, but looking closer it is clear she has overcome many struggles and difficult times. Now she, and her loved ones, are faced with the ultimatum of a lifetime. _

_Him or her. _

Jughead typed before sucking in his breath. His heartbeat increased as he quickly exited from the tab. Unshed tears bubbled in his vision before he checked the downloading progress. Two percent away. Watching as the bar finished it's loading he quickly unplugged the cord and shut his computer.

It had been five days since the letter had arrived and two days since he had decoded it. Six days since he'd seen her since he'd held her in his arms since he'd kissed her.

Reading through the warehouse names once more, he searched through each one's background. Out of seven closed warehouses, two had basements. Out of those two warehouses, one had recently closed that year and the other was closed years ago. Deciding that the one that had been closed longer was the best bet, he chose that place to search first.

**Tom's Tire Factory**

He had wasted two days when water spilled over his computer making him unable to use his computer to search for anything. Jughead had only gotten the computer fixed an hour ago.

"I'm coming, Betty," he whispered as he threw his jacket on.

_He was going to find her. He was so close._

Parking the motorcycle outside the old building, Jughead let his gaze travel to the building. Betty could be in there. Getting off the motorcycle, he took his helmet off and hung it on the handlebars.

Walking over to the building, he let his hand go to the knife in his pocket as he pushed open the doors. His heartbeat increased as his gaze searched the warehouse.

Empty.

Entering the building he looked around for any evidence that Betty had been there. When he spotted stairs leading to a basement he hurried over. That's where she would be kept if she was in the warehouse basement. Grip tightening against the knife handle he looked around.

As he walked down the stairs, his gaze caught onto a shimmering object on the stair step. Bending over he looked at the object closer. It was a silver bracelet with a small heart on it. Jughead's heart flipped as he looked at the heart closer. Engraved on the heart was BJ. Jughead pursed his lips, it was Betty's.

Gripping the bracelet in his hands he walked downstairs, heart racing. On the ground, blood speckled the floor and a dirty white, which looked more gray now, laid carelessly on the floor.

No Betty. His heart sank and his stomach flipped. She was here, recently, but he had missed her. Jughead was so close to saving her and he barely missed her.

Holding the bracelet in his hand, he traced his finger over the engravement. It was the birthday gift he had gotten for Betty last year. He was going to find her, he had to.

Jughead just _had _to.

* * *

Archie cursed under his breath as he hit the punching bag. He ignored the sting in his knuckles as he kept hitting the bag over and over again.

He and Veronica were done. He slammed his fist into the bag again.

Betty was still missing. He jabbed the lower part of the bag with extra force.

Jughead was breaking down and wouldn't stop trying to find Betty. He punched the bag again, looking at the speckles of blood that hit the bag with every hit.

The police weren't any closer to finding Betty. He hit the punching again, tears of anger trickling down his face.

"Arch." Archie froze at the voice.

"Betty?" he asked, looking over his shoulder. Archie pursed his lips when instead of Betty talking to him, it was Veronica. His stomach flipped. Was she taking him back?

"Not Betty, Veronica." The young woman muttered, crossing her arms over her chest. A bag had been dropped at her feet. "This is your stuff that you left at my house. I don't want you to come by. Ever again." Veronica explained coldly before she turned and walked off.

Archie watched her leave with longing eyes. He knew he should call after her. He'd apologize and she'd turn around, he'd tell her everything he loved about her and she would leap into his arms, kissing him. Replaying the scene in his head he nodded.

"Veronica wait," he called after her and she stopped but didn't turn around. "I'm sorry…" Archie added and she turned around, facing him. Her expression was emotionless and cold. "I love you so much-"

"-Stop," Veronica hissed, her lip quivered as she spoke. "Do not make this harder. No matter what you say, no matter what you do, it's no. It's always going to be a no. Now stay away from me, never come by again. Understand?" Her voice was hard and tears filled her eyes.

Archie nodded, watching her turn around and push open the gym doors. Then it was official, Veronica had left him.

* * *

Veronica closed the doors behind her, swallowing to try and remove the lump in her throat. Her eyes stung with tears that drifted down her cheeks. She knew it was dumb to cry, Betty was suffering much worse… and she had already broken up with Archie. So why did it hurt so much?

She had devoted herself to him, she had always supported him and then he turned around and yelled at her before trying to get her back two days later. When he confessed his love for her, Veronica felt herself tearing at the seams.

Her best friend was gone.

Her boyfriend was gone.

Half of her friends hated her.

Her parents were monsters.

She was truly alone. Utterly alone. Walking forward, she kept her gaze on the ground. Taking a shaky breath she wiped the tears from her eyes. Pausing at a building, she sank to the floor and put her head on her knees as she cried.

"Ronnie?"

Veronica looked up to see Reggie standing in front of her with a concerned look. "Oh," the Latina took a deep breath and offered him a pathetic smile. "Hey, Reggie."

The young man sat down beside her, looking out into the city. "You shouldn't be out here alone…" Staying quiet, she looked at the ground. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"Everything happened. Betty's gone, Archie and I are done, I just…" her body shook in sadness. Reggie put an arm around her and she leaned into his shoulder.

Crying into Reggie's shoulder, she let everything out.

* * *

And for everyone, things were sliding downwards on an icy slope and they were all hitting rock bottom.

* * *

**A/N: Review please! I don't want to write if I don't think anyone is reading, and what do you guys think of Reggie and Veronica?**


	7. Chapter 7: Seven Days

**Chapter Seven : Seven Days**

When Betty opened her eyes, she felt an uncomfortable object jab into her chest. Her face scrunched up and she groaned, opening her eyes and looking around. She was on the floor, and she still felt tingly in her hands from whatever Chic had injected her in.

She was laying stomach first on the ground, cheek pressed against the hardwood floor and her eyelids heavy. Rolling onto her back her hand went to her chest and she patted whatever was in her bra. It was rectangular.

Suddenly a light glimmered in her gaze and she remembered her last minutes of consciousness. _Her phone. _

Listening to her surroundings, Betty listened for Chic, his footsteps, his voice. When she heard nothing, she grabbed the phone and looked at him. Turning the power on, she watched the screen light up with life. Betty watched as the phone turned from a blinding white to her lock screen.

When she saw Jughead and her face for the lock screen wallpaper, she pursed her lips and fought tears. She had to text Jughead. She unlocked her phone with ease, the password was _1594 _for when it was estimated that Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet.

The phone unlocked and she felt a smile come to her face. She pressed onto the texting app and stared at Jughead's name. All his texts to her, pleading whoever had her to let her go. Her heart flipped and she started typing, feeling hope rise higher and higher in her chest.

**Betty: Jughead, it's Betty. I'm alive, Chic moved me from the warehouse. I'm in an old house with hardwood flooring. If things don't work out, chose me to die. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I was the cause of your death. I love you. Don't text or call back. **_**(Sent at 4:03 PM)**_

Once she sent the message, her hand hovered over the share the location before she pressed the button. Her location loaded, trying to send before a failed connection sign flashed on the screen. Betty's phone wasn't even sure where she was. Sitting up, she took the wrap around her head and covered her phone with her bandage pushing it into the corner of the room.

Once the phone was hidden, she pressed her hand to her side where there was a warm, sappy like feeling just above her hip. She was bleeding, that was obvious. Betty felt her stomach crawl when she wasn't able to place how she got her wound. For the first time in days, she wondered about how many wounds she had that she didn't know about.

Trying to shift to a more comfortable feeling, she felt a tingly feeling in her veins and she kept her hand to her side. Warm blood trickled over her hands and she took a shaky breath as she tried to stay awake. Her wounds must have reopened when she had been carried by Chic to this new place.

As her eyes flickered shut, she leveled out her breathing as she tried to stay awake. Shutting her eyes, she let herself go limp as she fell into a restless state of sleep.

* * *

Jughead was in his bed, his blanket pulled over him as he tried to sleep. He hadn't slept well since he barely missed Betty. He had no idea what to do, really. Everything had led to the warehouse but now his path was jumbled and led nowhere.

When his phone buzzed, he ignored it. It could be anyone checking in on him. Though he hadn't seen Archie in a few days… or any of the Serpents really. His father had stepped up again for the Serpents, and Jughead had made him keep everybody away.

After a moment though, Jughead grabbed the phone from the dresser and read who it was from. Breath catching in his throat when he read from who it was from he unlocked his phone and read the message.

**Betts: Jughead, it's Betty. I'm alive, Chic moved me from the warehouse. I'm in an old house with hardwood flooring. If things don't work out, chose me to die. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I was the cause of your death. I love you. Don't text or call back. **_**(Sent at 4:03 PM)**_

Jughead leaped from his bed as he read the message over and over again. Betty was alive. The next thing he checked was if she had shared her location. When he saw she had not shared her location, he immediately knew it was because of a loss of service. Betty was extremely smart, meaning if she was able to share her location, she would.

It was a clue in itself. She was in an old house with hardwood and was spotty with service. He also knew a place just like the place Betty described.

Holding his phone with white knuckles, he dialed Ms. Weiss's number.

* * *

Archie sat down on his kitchen stool as he wrapped a bandage around his knuckles. He had spread an ointment on it to help the healing process and so far it was working. Ever since he and Veronica had officially broken up, he had changed everything about the way he was grieving.

Instead of scavenging his knuckles and hands he took to running and jogging. Since running was more on the harmless side as long as he didn't overexert himself he knew it was much better than using a punching bag.

Once his knuckles were bandaged he stood up and walked upstairs to his room. Sitting on his bed, he pulled out his phone, looking at it for a long moment. By now he had realized his mistakes. Archie had yelled at Veronica when all she did was try and help, he had separated himself from everyone else that cared about him and he had just been an all-around horrible person.

Archie stared at Veronica's number for a moment, before he turned his phone off and tossed his phone on a pillow. Reaching under his bed he picked up his old guitar and placed it on his lap. Strumming the strings he relished in the sound that the instrument made.

"Baby come back, any kind of fool could see...There was something in everything about you… Baby come back, you can blame it all on me. I was wrong and I just can't live without you." Archie sang under his breath. He never would have thought that a song like "Baby Come Back" by Player would fit his love life so accurately than it did at that moment.

As he stopped playing the song, he took a breath as he remembered Betty and Veronica.

"One moment… I had everything. A night sky full of twirling stars." Archie sang with a soft voice, pouring all his sorrows into his music just seemed like the best option. As he sang, he felt the weight he carried on his heart lift with the music and get swept away. It was different from when he focused his anger into energy.

Singing just had this relaxing feeling to it. It made him feel so calm, clearing his mind with one swift flick. As he played his guitar with skilled movements he poured his heart out in song. "Nothing was worth it! Nothing at all! I'd take it all back if it meant I could… be… with… you again!"

"Archie..." the voice was distant but it was enough to make Archie stop playing to listen to whoever had spoken. Was his mind playing tricks on him? When nobody spoke again he shook his head to clear it. Grabbing his phone he started some music, turning it up and lying back down to listen to it.

* * *

Veronica blinked slowly as she quickly hung up the phone. Archie had sung the most romantic song about losing the love of his life, and he didn't even know she was listening. Her heart soared.

"Ronnie?" Reggie asked, appearing in her doorway with a confident smile.

For some reason, she just felt unimpressed. Archie had sung to her, and Reggie had shown up in a tux so they could go out just for dinner. She knew it wasn't fair, to compare the two because in every scenario Archie one.

Reggie had just opened her door, Archie always knocked.

Reggie didn't know her as Archie did.

"Reggie, what do you know about me?" she asked bluntly, looking at the young man in front of her with a curious look. Part of her wanted him to fail so she could see how right Archie was for her.

Reggie smiled and walked over to her, sitting beside. "Well, you're sexy," he smirked and he just blinked. Seeing she didn't want an answer like that he bit his lip in thought. "And… you like getting… pearls?" He nodded confidently, but his gaze was uncertain.

The young woman stood up and offered him a simple smile. "My dad gives me pearls when he does something wrong, so no. Receiving pearls means someone did something bad. Can you leave?" Veronica asked and Reggie laughed softly.

"Come on, are you really kicking me out because I didn't know that?" Reggie asked, standing up and stepping closer to her. Veronica felt her stomach curl in disgust and annoyance.

"Get out," she repeated, arms crossed over her chest.

When Reggie pressed his lips to her, she pushed him away and slapped him across the face, leaving a bright red mark on his cheek. Reggie blinked in surprise and backed away, he then looked at her for a moment before quickly slipping away, shutting the door behind him.

Veronica smiled and wiped her lips. Then she grabbed her phone and called Archie.

He answered right away and before he could speak, she interrupted first.

"What do I like?" she asked him, blinking thoughtfully.

"Chocolate milkshakes at Pop's. Romantic dates at places where it can be just the two-" Archie answered without hesitation. Veronica felt warmed at how much he knew her. He knew exactly what she was asking. 'Do you love who I am? Or how I look from the outside.'

And Archie had responded in the best way possible. 'I love you. Everything about you.'

* * *

The best thing about hitting rock bottom is there is only way left to go. At least that's what it seems like, _for now._

* * *

**A/N: Review please! I'll update after three reviews! Tell me what you want to see more of. (Angst, Romance, etc)**


	8. Chapter 8: Six Days

**Chapter Eight : Six Days**

Betty was leaning against the wall of the room, eyes shut halfway as she tried to sleep. Her throat was dry and hunger gnawed in her stomach. To say she hadn't thought about food in the past week would be a lie, but at the moment, it was the thing that was dominating her.

She felt, in a way, drunk, everything seeming so distant compared to the hunger she was feeling. She was hungry- no, she was sure it was safe to say she was starving- to a point where her stomach clenched and cramped up. It was as if her stomach was eating itself, which she knew was absurd.

Betty's hand patted the floor beside her before she realized with a sharp prick of dismay that her water had been left at wherever she had been held before. Now that it was brought to her attention that she couldn't drink, she felt her throat burn with a need for it.

Above all, she wanted Jughead's affection. Betty wanted the smiles they shared to be real and not a dream. She wanted his beautiful eyes to actually look into hers, not just her remembering how they looked. She wanted him to hold her and have it not be wishful thinking or an illusion._ She wanted him to be real and with her._

Putting her arms around her stomach as her face twisted in anguish.

When her phone buzzed, she looked up at the roof as she opened her eyes. For a moment, it was like the hum of angels as they took her away, finally saving her from her pain. Then she looked down at her phone as he shook, the bandage sliding off of it as it vibrated.

Interest flickered in her eyes, and she glanced at the door, when she was sure Chic wasn't coming, she picked up her phone. Jughead was calling her. Her throat caught in her throat and she pursed her lips. Betty knew she'd be risking almost everything to answer the call. Yet, for the first time in days, she felt her heart warm at the thought of speaking to him.

Answering the call, she brought it to her ear, hands shaky with frailty.

"Betts?" At Jughead's voice, she felt her breath hitch. "Betty, are you there?"

"Yes, here." she rasped, finding it an inhumanly struggle to talk. Trying to remember the last time she spoke more than a few words, she came up short. Swallowing her saliva to water her throat, Betty listened to Jughead take a sharp breath.

"Oh my god… Betty. Are you okay? Where are you?"

Betty bit her chapped bottom lip as she thought of answers to his question. "No... and I don't know," she whispered into the phone. She was surprised that the call had even gone through. When she heard footsteps approaching the door she felt panic strike her as she quickly placed her phone under her leg.

Not a second after the footsteps the door opened and Chic walked over. In his hands was a water bottle, Betty felt her need for water wash over her like a wave.

"Your water," Chic mumbled and tossed the bottle towards her. It hit her arm and she bit back a hiss of pain. Shakily, Betty picked it up in her frail hands.

Using all her might just to unscrew the lid, she brought the water to her lips and drank the water. The moment the water hit her mouth, Betty was relief wash over her. After she had taken a drink, she put the lid back on and put the bottle on the floor. Looking back up at the man in front of her, she narrowed her eyes in confusion when he stared at her expectantly.

_Oh, he wants an apology. _She thought and decided against it, blinking up at Chic coolly.

"What do you say?" Chic demanded and she managed a smirk as she stayed silent. She saw the raw anger burn in his eyes along with a wicked look of joy. When his fist snapped against her jaw she felt her vision go blurry for a split second before her numbness was replaced with pain. "Are those tears I see?" Chic crooned, kicking her in the stomach.

After the kick, Betty felt her stomach convulse as she barely suppressed the need to throw up. It wasn't until he asked if she was crying did her hands go to her eyes. When her fingers were warmed with droplets of water she knew she was.

"Please…" Betty whispered, hating that she was begging, that she was weak. Days of no food, little water, and abuse had taken a toll on her.

"Please what?"

"Please get the hell away from me!" Betty snarled, feeling a spark of raw rage and defiance surging across her. She was bleeding, bruised, starving and alone but she was not going to die in silence.

Instead of answering, Chic grabbed a chair that sat neatly by a table and swung it at her. Betty's hands went up to protect her face and the chair splintered against her forearms. She screeched in pain, after everything that Chic had done, he had never attacked her with anything but his own fists or limbs.

Chic hit her again with the chair and she felt blood trickle down her arms, fear flashed across her a the thought that her face would have received the beating instead. For the first time in days, she truly thought she was going to die and it was a horrifying thought.

As the man kept hitting her, Betty closed her eyes, desperate to go to her happy place. It didn't work, the pain was too great to think at all. "Jughead!" she screamed, his name slipping out of her mouth and she realized that he was her safety net. As her vision blurred out she felt warmness cloak her, welcoming her in all the chaos. She welcomed it, letting herself drift towards the warmth.

She went silent, limp as she left her pain for the warmth.

* * *

When Jughead called Betty, he was sitting on his couch, looking at the phone with an unreadable look. He had needed to speak to her, and so he had called her.

When she spoke, her voice was so frail and dry that he felt his heart crumble. She was suffering, he was here pushing everyone away for his own wellbeing and she was _dying_.

"No… and I don't know." she had whispered when Jughead finally felt tears roll down his face. That's when the call went fuzzy and silent, checking to see that she handed hung up, he narrowed his eyes in confusion.

When Chic had spoken to her, a fresh feeling of rage had coursed through him like an avalanche.

When he heard knuckles hit skin, his stomach twisted.

"Please…" Betty whispered and Jughead sucked in a breath. She sounded so weak, so defeated it stung.

"Please what?" Even though he was listening through a call, he could hear the smugness in Chic's voice and he clenched his fists.

"Please get the hell away from me!" At these words, he wanted to feel proud of her but he couldn't. At the sound of something smashing against skin, his mouth went dry at her screams of pain.

Jughead took a shaky breath, face twisting as he cried for her. The sounds of wood hitting skin and Betty's wails made Jughead want to reach out to hang up, he just couldn't listen any longer. "Jughead!" When she screamed his name, his heart stopped. It had slipped from her lips so easily that he felt guilt course through him. He was her safe place and he wasn't there to protect her.

The line was silent for a moment, and Jughead found himself holding his breath, desperate to hear proof she was alive. When he heard Chic swear under his breath and whatever he used to beat Betty fall to the floor Jughead stood up. The door closed and then it was silent. Horror hit him like a bullet and she felt himself get lightheaded.

"Betty!" he yelled, she needed to answer him. "Betty, please! No…" Jughead's voice trailed off and his breath hitched as he sobbed. He needed to find her. When he looked at the phone, he felt an idea flash across his mind. He needed to track the call!

Jughead raced out of the trailer with his phone gripped in his hands tightly. He was going to save her before he...

...before he never saw her again.

* * *

Veronica knocked on the door of Archie's house. She loved him. With all the pain in her life, he was her only constant. Betty was… still missing and there were no leads. She needed Archie more than ever now.

The door opened after a moment and she looked up at Archie's shocked but delighted expression. Suppressing a smile barely, she pressed her lips to his. At first, he didn't kiss back, just went rigid. Then he relaxed and his hands cupped her cheeks, deepening the kiss.

When they broke apart, Veronica sighed slightly and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm not saying sorry, but can we get pass this?" she asked, looking up at him with eyes that gleamed like stars.

Archie smiled and led her inside the house, closing the door and looking to Veronica. He made her look at him using his thumb and she looked into his tender eyes. "I'm sorry. I never should have snapped." he insisted and Veronica smiled and nodded.

"Then we've got passed our fight because I forgive you." her voice was warm affection. "Just never yell at me again," Veronica added and he smiled.

"Of course."

When Archie's phone rang, Veronica raised an eyebrow inquiringly. He answered it with a confused and hopeful expression. She immediately guessed it was about Betty and she felt her heart thud in her chest.

"You've found her location?" Archie asked, voice a whisper of disbelief. Veronica pursed her lips and felt hope flare like a fire in her heart. Once Archie hung up, he wrapped Veronica in a hug and she laughed softly. "Ronnie, they know where she is. Jughead and the cops are outside the place now."

Veronica suddenly frowned, closing her eyes in agitation. "What if… what she's dead?" She felt guilty that it was the first time since Betty was missing that she had truly worried about seeing Betty. She wasn't good at handling grief, what was she going to do when she saw Betty's bloody, broken form?

Archie didn't answer, instead, he enveloped her in a warm hug.

* * *

_As everyone would wait in bated breath, Betty was struggling to take a breath at all._

* * *

**A/N: Thank you all so much for you're support! Betty and Jughead will be reuinuted next chapter! I'll post the next chapter after four reviews. What do you want to see more of?**


	9. Chapter 9: No Guarantee

**Chapter Nine : No Guarantee**

Ambulance alarms; the repetitive blaring as a van races down the road to save a dying patient. Jughead watched people looked to the ambulance as if wondering who had been next. Another murder? Another shooting? A year ago, these would sound far off and the most likely guess would be a broken leg after falling clumsily.

Yet a clumsy accident was far from what had happened.

Jughead cast a grief-stricken look at Betty, who lay almost motionless on the bed in the van. One doctor was performing CPR on her body to try and keep her brain from giving up before they even reached the hospital.

Betty was an array of yellow, blue, and purple bruises and scratches. Some blood had been washed off by the doctors but Jughead could still see dried- and wet- blood patterned along her skin like stripes. Her forearms were the worst of all if you could believe that. The skin was ripped and swollen red, one arm lay completely limp and Jughead was almost positive the bone was broken.

Pulling his gaze from her body, he swallowed in an attempt to remove the rock from his throat. His eyes burned slightly at his unshed tears but he ignored the burn. Wasn't it only fair that he felt pain since Betty had gone through so much? Thinking it through, Jughead knew that was stupid.

Chic may have managed to escape the cops, but Jughead was going to find him and make Chic **pay**.

Shortly after she had been delivered to the hospital, Jughead had been informed that Betty had fallen into a coma.

She had internal bleeding, broken bones, bruised lungs (and skin), cuts and subdural hematoma -a wound in the head from severe contact with something-.

Betty had been in surgery for a few hours, then she was allowed, visitors. Alice visited first, then Jughead -who stayed the longest-, then Veronica and Archie, followed shortly by a group of Serpents. Polly came the next day and was now staying in town with the twins.

"Betty… I know that you can hear my voice so listen.. So here I go." Leaning over he pressed his lips to her forehead and held her warm hand. He could feel her body rise and fall against his. "I love you, everything about you. Your smile when you see something you want but we both know you'll never ask for. The way the corner of your mouth twitches when I do something you hate but not enough to yell at me for it…" his voice trailed off as he felt a lump form in his throat.

In the movies, the storybooks of romance and life, this was where the dying book character would wake up.

Jughead stopped talking as tears burned in the corner of his eyes. Kissing her warm forehead he pulled away and sat back in the hospital chair. A look of grief glistened on his face and he pursed lips.

This wasn't a storybook. Happy endings had no guarantee.

There was a knock on the door and Jughead looked over to it, waiting for the person to enter. When Archie entered the room, Jughead nodded his greeting. He was too exhausted to do much else. Even though he had slept only a few hours ago, having had fallen asleep in the hospital chair and waking up with a sore neck.

"Hey, Jug." Archie murmured and Jughead was surprised when Archie entered without Veronica. Apparently, they had broken up then gotten back together when Jughead was busy trying to find Betty. Apparently, a lot of things had happened.

He almost felt bad that he had missed so much. But the last thing he wanted was to have faced even more drama.

When Jughead didn't answer, Archie sat down in a chair next to him. "She'll wake up."

"Or she'll die."

"No- she'll wake up. She will."

When Jughead went silent, looking at Betty's peaceful face, Archie scratched his eyebrow. "I brought your beanie over, and a pair of new clothes from your trailer," he added and placed a small bag on Jughead's lap.

"Thanks," Jughead said softly, looking at his beanie. His hand hovered over the hat before he picked it up and put it on. It felt like a blanket of _safe_, of _warmth_. He relished in it.

Archie nodded and they were both quiet for a moment. Watching Betty breathe softly with her eyes closed. When her eyes fluttered, Jughead sat up straighter. For a moment, it was as if she was waking up. Then her vital signs monitor slowed down, slower and slower, then it flatlined.

"Betty!" Jughead gasped and jumped up, Archie getting up as well put a hand over his shoulder to keep him away from Betty. Doctors rushed in and he felt hot wash over him, a sign he was about to pass out. A nurse grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him out of the room, Archie following behind quickly.

The sound of the low buzz, of Betty's heart flatlining, burned into his gaze. "Betty…" he whispered, hands shaking with horror. _She was dying. _

_Dying_.

* * *

Veronica brushed her hair down, her silky locks brushing easily. She looked at the mirror in her room, at her face that was pale with worry. Betty had been found two days ago and was in the hospital. She felt guilty, that she had only visited- seen her really- once.

It was shameful really, what had happened.

"_Are you sure you are ready to see her?" Archie asked and Veronica rolled her eyes. _

"_Of course," Her voice was clear as if it was obvious. She was strong, seeing Betty would be hardly any different then waiting to see if Fred was going to be okay that one day. _

_She heard Archie sigh as he looked out at the road. "She's not going to be awake," he warned as he switched lanes. The car rumbled lightly as he got onto the faster road. _

"_I _know_," Veronica added with a slight growl. What did he think she was? A weakling? She had seen people hurt before, she had seen people in danger. Weren't her parents the crime lords while Archie's were what? Lawyers and construction workers?_

"_Sorry, it's just… I guess I'm worried. Like maybe if you don't want to go- I don't have to." his voice trailed off and the shame in his eyes was as clear as day. _

"_I understand," The Latina whispered and sighed softly. Reaching in her purse, she pulled out her lipstick and reapplied it to her lips. "But we have to do it. She'll be okay, I mean- she's Betty. She's like the Serena Williams of Riverdale."_

"_What if… she doesn't make it?"_

"_She will."_

"_Yeah but-" _

"_-She's going to make it!" Veronica snapped, making Archie flinch. She ducked her head, looking at the lipstick that had smeared at her sudden snap. "Sorry…" she breathed, grabbing a wipe and fixing the lipstick mess._

_They drove in silence for a few minutes, before Archie pulled in the hospital driveway and they got out in silence. Veronica had her eyes downcast. She had thought that if maybe she had acted confident, she'd calm the raging fear inside her. It hadn't worked. Archie had voiced her own fears. _

"_We'd like to visit Betty Cooper," Archie murmured to the receptionist and she smiled kindly, whispering her room number and pointing into a hallway. "Thank you." _

_The walk to Betty's room was a thundering silence. Their footsteps sounding like sudden strikes of lightning in the storm of quiet. Pushing open the door, Veronica felt her breath catch at the sight. _

_Betty was on the bed, eyes closed and breathing slow but steady. Her face was pale and her body was bandaged all over. Her head was tilted back on the pillow as a wrap was around her head. Veronica remembered the surgery she had gone through and she took a shaky breath. _

"I can't,"_ she whispered, voice and hands shaking violently. Within a second, she raced away from the room and out of the hospital, the receptionist calling after her in concern. _

Veronica put her head in her hands and placed the brush back on her table. That's what she had told Archie when he asked if she wanted to come with him to visit Betty today.

"I can't,"

He hadn't pushed it, just kissed her quickly and left, a bag of Jughead's clothes in hand.

When her phone buzzed she checked it with a blank face even though her eyes flipped at Betty's name in the message.

**Lover-boy: betty is awake but its not good **_**(Sent at 6:09 PM)**_

Veronica felt her heart sink even farther than it had been before. Betty could be dead. She could die. Even though this wasn't the first time it had hit her, it stung just as bad. If not worst. Tears trickled down her face, down her cheeks, ruining her makeup. Her best friend could die.

Could be _dead_.

* * *

Archie felt fear frost over him, and as he followed Jughead out of the room. He wanted to grab onto the doorframe and run over to her but he knew it would do no good. He also knew it wasn't the right time to splinter.

He _had _to be strong.

For Betty- but also for Jughead who seemed to be hurting just as bad.

"_You have to be strong, for your friends. They aren't doing well." His father had told him the night before. They were sitting on the chair in the kitchen, talking quietly. _

_Veronica was coming over soon so Archie was waiting in the kitchen with Fred. _

"_I know, but what if I'm not strong?" Archie asked, looking down at the countertop with a shameful expression. He didn't like to admit it, but it was true and he couldn't lie to his own dad. _

_Fred sighed and looked over to the young man, putting an arm over Archie's shoulders. "You are." the way his father sounded- so sure and confident- made Archie nod. "Besides, Betty's strong." _

_Archie remembered Veronica saying that, and he knew it was true but even the strong ended up dying. _

"_I know." his voice was low, muffled by his concern for Betty._

_His father pulled him closer, giving him a hug before letting go and standing up. "Riverdale is a horrible place- and without Betty, I don't know what would happen. So we have to hope she'll be okay. Just remember, she's had things happen to her before."_

_Archie blinked simply but shook his head. "Nothing as bad as this though," he muttered under his breath and Fred sighed softly. _

"_There is no way she'll allow herself to die that young," Fred added and Archie noted that he was talking in his confident and positive voice. It was like he knew she was going to be okay. _

_And Archie had actually believed him. _

Had.

Now Betty was in the room with a bunch of doctors and her heart flatlining. There was no possible way that somebody could know another person would be alright. There wasn't a higher being to pray or beg to. There wasn't a penny you could throw in a pond. There was luck, and there were facts.

And all the facts were against Betty's hope for survival. They all pointed to one thing.

_She wasn't going to make it._

* * *

Silence. Darkness. Warmth.

She felt herself move her hand, she felt the way her fingers curled and uncurled. She looked down- opened her eyes. It was still dark and warm but she could see herself clearly.

She was blond, and she wore a pink sweater. She tried to rememberer things about her. She was dating the kindest person she'd ever met, Jughead was his name. She had to see him again.

She knew her mother lived on a farm with her sister and her nieces. Alice, Polly, Dagwood, Juniper. She wanted to hug them again.

She knew she was a writer in the newspaper, she wore ponytails and she knew she was happy. Betty. That was her name. Betty's mouth curled up in a smile that she had remembered. When a person appeared in the endless black she narrowed her eyes in thought.

"Who? Who are you?" Betty asked, the words fumbling out of her mouths like a strange new thing that she somehow knew.

"Come over here." the voice was soothing but she couldn't place who it belonged to. She named the person Enigma. After what Jughead had called her that one day. That hot day with the cars. The voice was soothing, she did walk towards it.

Her stomach twisted at how her surroundings dimmed as she walked closer to Enigma. Betty didn't like it. Something was up. She didn't like how when she reached out to Enigma she went cross-eyed. That's when it hit her. Enigma wasn't the person's name. This was Death.

Betty backed away, but Death grabbed her arm, pulling her closer. Her vision went truly black as she fought to stay alive. "Please no! Not yet, I'm not ready!" she screamed, pulling away.

Jughead. Alice. Polly. Archie. Veronica.

Jughead. Veronica. Archie.

_Jughead_.

She yanked her hand away from Death and backed away, spitting on the floor in front of him. Then Betty relaxed, letting her eyes open. This time when she opened her eyes, she didn't see darkness- she saw light.

And doctors.

* * *

_Love and death are two uninvited guests. Nobody knows when they come, but both do the same work. One takes the heart and the other takes its beat._

_-Joseph Buluran_

* * *

**A/N: Sorry that took so long! I kept writing it again and again before erasing all of it because I just hated it. I really just wanted this to be an amazing chapter so I tried like forty different ideas out and only this one is good. Your reviews are so amazing! Thank you! Also- I said Betty and Jughead would be reunited in this episode but I didn't say they would both be awake.**


	10. Chapter 10: I've Left but I'm Still The

**Chapter Ten : I've Left but I'm Still There**

For a week, Betty went through a series of tests, some of the mind, some of the body and some of her blood and genes. Most had come back with positive reactions but there was something there, in her brain, the doctors had told Alice that Betty would suffer from severe PTSD.

When Alice told Betty, Betty had made her mother promise not to tell anyone else. She didn't want them to make a huge deal of it.

Now Betty had been cleared to return home- and Betty was more than ecstatic. Folding up her clothes that Jughead had brought over, she placed them in her suitcase. It was amazing to be able allowed to leave.

"How are you feeling?" The voice jolted Betty from her thoughts and she glanced over at Jughead. A small smile flittered to her face, and her eyes glistened with affection for him. Every step of the way in the hospital, Jughead had been there. He helped her with her tests and sat beside her as she cried about stupid things.

She didn't like being weak. But she appreciated being allowed to be truthful around him.

"Not well. I'm happy to be leaving, but I don't know…" She sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose stressfully. I don't want to go back to that house. Her own house the center of her fears. She wouldn't- couldn't- tell Jughead that though. Jughead was worried for her enough.

Jughead reached over to put a hand on her shoulder, but she flinched away. Her eyes shut tightly and she sucked in a breath. A feeling of helplessness and fear washed over her and she choked back a sob. When the hand left her shoulder, she put her head in her hands and felt tears run down her cheeks.

The next thing she knew, Jughead had his arms wrapped around her in a warm hug. The effect was soothing, but the horror just wouldn't leave her. She hadn't remembered anything this time, just felt the same way she had felt when she was backed in a corner.

"Hey… I'm right here. It's Jughead- not him." He hadn't even spoken his name, and she could hear the rage shake in Jughead's tone. Betty could feel the anger sparking off Jughead, and she suppressed the urge to flinch again.

Sighing deeply, Betty leaned into Jughead. His hand brushed her hair from her face gently and she relaxed in his presence. She was safe around him.

Safe. The thought felt weird in her thoughts but the word made her smile because it was true.

Jughead held Betty for a moment, not rubbing her back or talking, just holding her. He didn't know what she had gone through, but she was going to need him- and all her friends- to help her along the way.

When she finally moved away from him and stood up, Jughead offered her a pathetic smile and she frowned. The corner of her mouth twitched, trying to hide her anger, but before she could hide it, he had caught it. "What?"

"Don't… I don't want you to… smile and act like everything is okay. Something happened. I almost died. I can't forget that… so, please. Don't act like things are the same because they aren't. We can't…" she closed her eyes as tears cascaded down her face. "...we can't act like nothing's happened when I remember it all so vividly!"

Jughead felt guilt wash over him and he wanted to stand up, wrap her in a hug and whisper that he was there for her. But he knew she could be reminded of what happened if he touched her.

"Alright," he said simply and held out his hand to her. Betty looked at his hand for a long moment before she grabbed it in hers.

"Alright," she breathed, smiling gratefully. "Thank you." Jughead nodded.

"Any and all the time, Betty."

* * *

Veronica looked down at her phone for the fifth time in the last ten minutes. She knew it was wrong, ignoring Betty like this. But she couldn't face her friend's bruised form. Despite the texts, she had gotten.

**B: I'm free, come over. **_**(Sent at 9:43 AM)**_

**B: Come on, it'll be fun. **_**(Sent at 9:44 AM)**_

**B: V? You okay? **_**(Sent at 9:45 AM)**_

**B: Now I'm worried about you. Please tell me you're okay. **_**(Sent at 9:50 AM)**_

**B: Please answer me. **_**(Sent at 9:51 AM)**_

She wanted to answer Betty, but then what would she say? Sorry, I just can't see you without freaking out with guilt.

Veronica put on her faux fur coat from New York and looked at herself in the mirror. While her outfit was just perfect, the paleness in her face -the worry- was too obvious. Her phone buzzed, again and again, she checked it.

**B: Answer me now!**_** (9:53 AM)**_

Grabbing the phone, she swallowed the lump in her throat and pressed on the message. As she typed her reply, slowly, she kept her eye on her newly painted nails. It made her sick to even read what she was writing.

**Veronica: Stop texting me. I'm not coming to visit. **_**(Sent at 9:54 AM)**_

The moment she sent the message, she wished she could take it back. When the small comment underlined Veronica's message saying "Read" she felt her heart sink.

When Betty called her, Veronica surprised herself when she answered it and held the phone to her ear.

"V? What's happening? Is it bad? Let me help."

The worry in Betty's voice, her friend's guilt, sent Veronica over the ledge and she knew she needed to get Betty to stop being worried.

"_Stop talking to me_. I don't want to speak with you." Veronica spat, then she quickly hung the phone up and threw it at the wall. The phone fell to the floor after putting a dent in the paint. She didn't care.

Veronica's best friend, who had just gotten out of the hospital, had left Veronica's life. And it was Veronica's fault. Tears spilled down her cheeks and the familiar feeling of shame spread across her, like a vine, pulling her down lower and lower. Just hearing Betty's voice, imagine what she looked like, was enough to make Veronica panic.

Her hands were sweating and her breaths were coming out short. "I'm sorry," she sobbed, keeping her eyes on the dent in her wall. It looked more like a crack now, lines stretching outwards slightly. Veronica narrowed her teary eyes, surprised she had thrown her phone that hard.

Surprised she had pushed her best friend away so quickly.

* * *

When Veronica hung up the phone, Betty's first feeling was confusion, then anger, then guilt and shame. She was such a disgrace. First, she let the worst possible thing happen to her and worry about her boyfriend, then she went and hurt her best friend as well. Betty wasn't sure what she had done, but it must be bad.

Curling up with her legs to chest, she stared emptily at Jughead's curly lock of hair that fell onto his face as he slept. She had only had to ask once -for him to stay over- and he had agreed.

"Hm?" Jughead murmured, opening his eyes to see Betty looking at him with a lost expression. "What's wrong?" he asked, voice concerned. Betty wrapped her arms around his waist and closed her eyes.

It took a minute before she answered.

"I just lost one of my best friends."_ Because I'm so hopeless._ She added in her own private thoughts.

* * *

Archie had learned of the incident from Jughead, that Veronica had snapped at Betty and broken their friendship. Despite Archie's love for Veronica, he felt rage simmering in his veins. How could she?

He knocked on her bedroom door, anger burning in his gaze when Veronica opened the door. When he saw how she looked though, his anger vanished immediately. Veronica's face was splotchy with tears, her makeup had run and she was dressed in a plain oversized shirt with a robe around her.

"Are you okay?" he asked and stepped inside, enveloping her in a hug. Veronica put her head on his shoulder and he could feel her swallow.

"I just lost my best friend, and it's my own fault. I think I just made her personal hell worse." Veronica whispered hoarsely and Archie could tell she had been repeating this to herself over and over because she had spoken with such monotone.

Archie pulled away from her slightly and sighed deeply. "Then fix it,"

"Before it's too late."

* * *

_Those who really love you don't mean to hurt you and if they do, you can't see it in their eyes but it hurts them too. _

_-Holly Black_

* * *

**A/N: Not the biggest fan of this one- I was and still am so tired when I wrote and edited it so... yeah. Thank you so much for reading! Now for a few questions:**

**1\. How did Betty get to the hospital? _Jughead called 911 and an ambulance came._**

**2\. What happened to Chic? _Unknown, he wasn't in the building when Jughead arrived with the cops. _**


	11. Chapter 11: Porcelain

**Chapter Eleven : Porcelain **

"Hey V," Betty murmured through the phone as she sat on Jughead's couch.

It had been three days since she had been cleared to leave the hospital and since she couldn't bring herself to go back home, she'd been staying in Jughead's trailer. Jughead was out with Archie at the moment, an event Betty had planned to get Jughead to stop questioning her.

As long as she stayed away from the main triggers, Betty was able to say her PTSD was getting much better. Avoiding the main triggers meant staying in Jughead's trailer all day- but it worked.

"Just trying to get ahold of you, again. Update is… I'm good. Hope you are too. Okay, thanks for listening, bye." She hung up the phone, hoping Veronica would get her voicemail.

The worst part was the fact that Veronica still wouldn't talk to her. Archie had told Betty that Veronica was worried about her so she had started leaving updates for her friend. It was the only thing Betty felt capable of doing.

At least she was getting better. At least that's what she had been telling herself whenever something happened.

Putting her phone on the couch, Betty sighed, fingers pressing against her palms. Another thing that had happened, was that her old habit of self-harm was back. As much as Betty tried to contain herself, to keep herself from making her hands bleed -which was another trigger- she rarely could stop herself without Jughead's help.

Betty looked down at her hands and closed her eyes. She imaged Jughead wrapping his arms around her and the feeling of safety. Her hands uncurled and the pressure on her palm's skin was released.

_At least I'm getting better._ She thought and sucked in a breath. _But if I'm getting better, then why is my life still horrible?_ Getting up, she walked over to the kitchen with a face twisted with emotion. Reaching down to grab some tylenol from the drawer, she rolled her eyes at how much of a mess it was.

When she reached in the pile of stuff she felt something dig into her hand. Scissors. She'd cut her finger on scissors. Cursing in pain, she reached out for a rag but froze at the sight of blood dripping down her finger and falling to the floor.

At the sight of one droplet, her throat closed up and her heart raced. When the blood hit the ground, she closed her eyes, trying to keep herself from remembering, but it was too late.

_Betty gasped and Chic's fist made contact with her jaw. She tasted the blood, the metallic flavor, first. Then she saw blood drip down her chin and fall to the floor. The droplet landed on her pants instead. _

Betty was shaking violently, gasping for the air that was being kept from her. Tears poured down her face, tickling her chin as they dropped to the floor. Betty fell to the floor, landing on her knees and putting her head on the floor as she shook her head.

The flashback just repeated, over and over again. It was the worst she had experienced so far, sometimes she could simply shake it off, while some she just felt the emotions and needed a hug. This was different, she was reliving the moment. The horror, the pain, the fear, she could see it all happening.

The door opened and Jughead stepped inside, laughing softly. "Betty you've got to hear what-" when he saw her on the floor he rushed over to her. "Betty, Betty…" he repeated.

She could hear him, but Betty couldn't stop seeing the flashback. "No…" she sobbed, eyes shut tightly in horror. When Jughead pulled her in a hug, she let herself go limp and she held onto his leather jacket.

"_You're worthless, you know Jughead will choose himself right? He'll let you die." Chic went on, leaning on the wall. _

_Betty felt anger surge inside her, licking the blood on her lip. "He won't need to. I'll escape before he has to choose anyone." She spat and Chic leaned down, grabbing her face roughly in his hands. _

"_Will you now?" He growled, and he felt him jab his hand into her stomach. Betty felt the pain warm all over her. She took hoarse breaths, trying to get oxygen into her lungs again. "Will you?" Chic yelled and when she barely managed to nod, he hit her in the rib and she buckled, coughing to try and forget about the pain. _

Jughead kept holding onto her shaking form, stroking her hair and whispering to her. "Betty, you're okay… We're in the trailer. Betty, understand? The trailer, with the ugly brown and white walls. Okay, Betty? You're okay. You're safe."

Betty felt the flashback slowly ebb away as she managed to open her eyes. Jughead's words were so calming, she wanted to look at him. Forcing her eyes open she took in the wall color, he was right. She was in the trailer with the ugly brown and white trailer walls. Not the gray basement. She stopped shaking so much and rested her head on him.

"Yeah… see? What you were seeing was all past. This is the present. Betty, see?" Betty nodded, looking at the walls of the room. Her arms were wrapped tightly around Jughead's waist. He was sitting on the floor, and she was sprawled on top of him, still half on the floor.

"I see," She whispered and took a few calming breaths. "I see…" Betty repeated, her grip on Jughead not loosening. He just felt so _safe_, everything about him.

After a few minutes, Jughead brushed a piece of hair out of her eyes and she looked up at him. His eyes were burning with concern and sadness. "Hey, Bets," he whispered and she sighed shakily.

"Hello,"

"Can I see you're hand?" Jughead asked, still rubbing circles on her back. She nodded and showed him the cut on her hand. When he winced, she looked over at sucked in a breath. Her nails had cut deep into her palm and blood was a growing pool on her hand. The cut was hardly noticeable compared to the nail wounds.

Betty bit her lip slightly, not daring to look at Jughead's face. When Jughead reached in his pocket and pulled out a napkin from Pop's, Betty took a few shaky breaths. Jughead pressed the napkin to her palm and kissed the top of her head. "And your other hand?" He asked and she let go of Jughead. to show him her other palm.

It was just as bad, but this time Jughead didn't wince. He stood up, still holding her slightly because she stood up as well. Walking her over to the sink, she turned the faucet on. Betty sighed in relief at the white noise and looked to Jughead as he ran her hands in the water.

When she saw the blood on her hands, her heart stopped and panic shot through her again. This time though, Jughead was there and rubbed her back, kissing her forehead. "You're alright Betty. You're alright." Betty nodded, trying her hardest to believe him.

An hour later, they were sitting on the couch. Betty had her head rested on his shoulder and Jughead had his arm around her waist as they stared at the blank TV. Betty's hands were wrapped in a bandage and she had calmed down since her… episode.

"Betty?" Jughead started and Betty felt her mouth twitch in annoyance. She knew that tone. The sweet, slow one.

"Yeah?"

"Are you telling me everything?"

Betty felt her mouth go dry and she sighed softly. Maybe if she didn't say anything, he'd leave it. Jughead kissed her head and she swallowed. He was waiting for an answer. Cursing him for being so patient she took a breath. "No," She whispered, maybe if she could talk quiet enough he wouldn't hear her.

"Can you please tell me everything, I want to know. So I can help," Jughead murmured back, and she could hear the pain in his voice. Betty felt guilt well in the pit of her stomach. She was hurting him by keeping secrets.

"Alright,"

* * *

"Alight," Betty whispered and Jughead sighed in relief.

When he walked in on her screaming in horror, he felt his heart stop. He had thought she was doing okay… Jughead cursed himself for being so naive. How could Betty really be okay after everything?

When Betty started telling him everything, he felt his heart sink farther and farther. It hurt to hear what she had been dealing with.

"As for Veronica… Jughead she's my best friend." The young woman breathed, voice quiet. "And she won't even talk to me." Tears bubbled in her eyes and Jughead wiped them away with his hand. "I'm falling, drowning and I don't want to hold onto anyone because I'm scared I'll pull them under with me." She swallowed hard and Jughead felt her heart sting with bitter hate for Chic. "Veronica- see she was smart." Talking about Veronica put a strain on Betty's voice and Jughead gave her a quick hug. "She jumped ship before I could bring her down."

Jughead pursed his lips and sighed. "Betty, look at me." She looked up at him, eyes red with unshed tears. Jughead didn't know why Veronica stopped being friends with Betty, but he wasn't going to let this continue. "You did nothing wrong." Her eye twitched ever so slightly and he knew she didn't believe him.

Instead of continuing, Jughead kissed her lips and she kissed back. It was soft, quick but when they pulled away, Betty seemed already more relaxed. Jughead grinned slightly and pulled her in closer, she rested her head against her chest again.

"I love you, Jug."

"I love you too."

* * *

Archie threw open Veronica's bedroom door and took a shaky breath to control himself. Veronica looked up to him with a blotchy face and narrowed her eyes in confusion.

"What's wrong?"

"Betty just had another flashback- and Jughead says it has to be the worst one yet," Archie said, voice shaking with frustration. "You need to talk to her."

Veronica's face fell and she sat down on her bed again, shaking her head. "Arch, you know I can't." her voice cracked slightly but Archie just narrowed his eyes and sat beside her.

He almost wanted to yell at her for being so stupid, but he knew that would accomplish nothing.

Betty was hurting, Veronica was hurting for Betty. For Veronica to get better, she needed to help Betty get better, but she wouldn't even text Betty.

"Ronnie, she needs you-"

"-Stop telling me that!" The Latina snapped and put her face in her hands. "You think I don't know that?" Her voice was shrill and rising by the moment. Archie kissed her cheek to stop her talking and she stopped.

"Listen- you need her to get better and _she needs you._ She calls you every day and you listen to every one of her voicemails over and over. Don't you just want to talk to her?" He asked and Veronica's face was blank for a moment, then something flickered in her eyes and Archie couldn't tell what it was.

He didn't need to ask.

"Oh my god, you're right." Veronica shook her head and blew out a breath. "I've been so selfish… oh my god, I need to talk to her!" she jumped up. Archie held back a comment that he was always right. It wasn't the right time.

Veronica threw on a faux fur coat over her dark velvet dress and slipped on some black heels. "Thank you, lover-boy," she smirked and Archie grinned back. "I need your car."

Then she took off, the door swinging shut behind her. Archie felt realization dawned on him and he raced after Veronica. "Wait- I need my car to get home!" but when he saw Hermione looking at him from the kitchen, a wine cup in her hands he blushed. "I'll… just walk." He murmured awkwardly and the mayor laughed.

"Smart move, I'm pretty sure she's already in the car."

Archie smiled awkwardly and walked outside, shaking his head at how awful that had been. The worst time for Hermione to just be standing in the kitchen, but at least Veronica was going to speak to Betty.

Archie put his hands in his pockets and his hand dropped to his pocket, for his phone. When it wasn't there he remembered he left it in the car, Archie blew out an annoyed breath.

When his eye caught onto something -somebody- in the shadow of a building, Archie felt his hands clench. The short blond hair was unmistakable. When the man looked over at Archie and their eyes made contact, the man turned and retreated in the shadows.

Archie wanted to rush forward, but at just the sight of Chic made him freeze.

Chic was still out there, lurking in the shadows.

* * *

"_My past is an armor I cannot take off, no matter how many times you tell me the war is over."_

* * *

**_A/N: Okay, I had just finished the new Riverdale episode and I was so ready to write so that's why this was posted early and longer. Tell me what you think of this episode and what you think of Chic coming back. Thank again for reading! ^^_**


	12. Chapter 12: Warning Shot

**Chapter Twelve : Warning Shot**

Veronica glanced back at the road behind her. The yellow lines on the road blurred into one straight line as she raced forward. She was out of the main town now, and she knew she needed to get to Betty.

Looking back at the road in front of her, she leaned into the seat she was in.

She had been stupid, no- she'd been a damn fool.

Betty was suffering, and Veronica knew she had something to do with it. She pressed her foot on the pedal harder, and the truck raced forward with a soothing growl.

She hadn't planned on stopping, but when something caught her eye she slowed the car down and parked it on the side of the road. Clipped to the passenger seat, was a folded white note. Veronica picked it up, the low beeping of the car making her skin crawl. She didn't know much about cars, but that didn't sound right.

Unfolding the note, she looked at the words with narrowed eyes. She really had to get going.

_Somebody will end up dead in the river. Tell Betty and Jughead my deal stands, they can make a choice and only one of them dies, or I'll kill one in front of the other, to let them suffer as I did. _

_They have three hours after the bomb goes off before I'll take matters in my own hands. Tell them to send the person they have chosen to where Betty sent me to die. _

_-Chic_

Veronica put the note down, hands shaking. The color in her face drained and her heart sank. The note made hardly any sense to her, but the meaning was thickly obvious.

Jughead or Betty were going to have to die.

Then alarm flashed through her as she thought of the note again. Three hours afters after the bomb goes off? What bomb?

Hands going back to the steering wheel, Veronica started the car and raced off, ignoring the speed limit altogether. This was a matter between life and death. A matter more important than anything she had ever faced- which was saying a lot. Veronica had to warn Betty of the bomb.

The car rumbled, the low beeping quickening ever so slightly. Veronica felt her nose flare with annoyance, Archie had to fix his car. How could he drive with that beeping? She pressed down on the petal more, letting the car charge at full speed forward.

In less than ten minutes, Veronica slowed down so she could drive through the trailer park without making too much sound. She parked in front of Jughead's trailer and turned the car off.

Annoyance flashed through her when the beeping didn't stop. Checking to make sure the car was off, she looked under the dashboard. Her heart lurched at what she saw. Strapped under the dashboard was a bomb, and Veronica could count how much seconds she had left on one hand.

* * *

Jughead rubbed Betty's shoulders slightly. She was wrapped in a blanket and leaning against him as she numbly stared at the wall. For once, he could see her agony. The overtaking trauma that she had suffered through over the past few weeks.

And it scared him.

Betty had been through so much, over the past two years but he had never seen her like this. Her father had almost murdered her and her mother, she almost had to bury her best friend, she lived with somebody who she thought was her brother but was really a murderer. All of this and she had finally broken down.

He didn't blame her.

"Jug?" Betty's voice was frail, still shaking slightly from what had happened and then having to talk about it.

"Yeah?" Jughead whispered and draped his arms around her in a warm hug. He knew it was going to be his job to help her put the pieces back together.

Betty was silent for a moment, but Jughead didn't push her. She could have as much time as she needed. "Is Archie coming over?" confusion was wrapped around her words.

"No," he answered, surprised.

"There is a truck outside," She spoke without much emotion, but he could her eyes flickering with doubt and confusion. He glanced out the window and he heart leaped with hope. It was Veronica in Fred's truck.

When Veronica ducked down before leaping up with sheer horror, Jughead felt time slow down.

"Bomb!" Veronica screamed.

Jughead leaped off of the couch and picked Betty up, her eyes widened at Veronica's scream and he felt her take a sharp breath. "Veronica! Jughead save her!" She wailed but Jughead placed Betty on the ground and covered her ears.

"Get down!"

The explosion was deafening. The trailer shook at the blast then he heard somebody scream. He wasn't sure who, though. It could have been Betty, Veronica, a neighbor, or even him.

Then everything was silent, besides the low hum in Jughead's ears. After a second of silence, the hum changed into more of ringing and he grabbed Betty's face in his, getting her to look at him. Her eyes were numb with shock and tears trailed down her face. Jughead pulled her close to him, and she rested her head on his chest as she sobbed.

Once the ringing stopped, Jughead saw Betty quickly pull away from him. Her wide green eyes glistened with horror. "Veronica…" she whispered and leaped up. Jughead stood up as well, grabbing onto her arm. She couldn't go out there- not if Veronica was… hurt.

Instead of staying with Jughead, Betty wrenched her arm away from him and looked at with anger and panic. "Jughead, I'm going out there," Her voice caught on the last words and she brushed away tears. "Veronica could be dead!"

With that, she swung the trailer door open and raced outside. Jughead ran after her, grabbing his knife that lay on the counter. In case Chic was out there.

* * *

As Betty ran towards the car, she felt dizziness flood her at the sight. The car was beyond repair, and parts lay scattered around. Her gaze searched for Veronica and when she saw blood her heart sank further.

Ears still ringing she glanced over her shoulder at Jughead, who stood on the porch of the trailer. She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand, clearing her teary vision before turning back to the rubble.

"Veronica!" she yelled, numbly walking to the broken car.

She couldn't see Veronica, but a trail of blood led Betty behind a trailer. There, Veronica was covering her ears as she shook. Betty rushed over, heart pounding.

"Ronnie," Betty whispered and dropped to her knees beside her friend.

Veronica looked up slightly at Betty, and a small smile flickered to her face. Her lip was bleeding and there was a shard of metal stuck in her side. The young woman was cradling the wound, the blood covering her hands and dripping down her sides and legs.

Betty rushed over to her friend, voice hitching at the sight. "Jughead!" Betty screamed and heard her footsteps race over. Turning back to Veronica, she brushed hair from Veronica's eyes. "V, you're okay…" she whispered.

When a hand tapped Betty's shoulder she bit her tongue to suppress a scream of surprise. "Sorry," Jughead whispered and Betty heard him dial a number. Betty felt her stomach twist when Veronica's hand rested on Betty's arm.

"I'm so sorry…" Veronica croaked, and Betty offered a weak smile and shook her head.

"No- don't be. I forgive you… please just live…"

"An ambulance is on their way," Jughead murmured and Betty nodded numbly. "Veronica, keep your eyes open."

Betty felt her stomach twist and her throat closed up. Tears welled in her eyes as she glanced down at the gash in her friend's side.

"_Elizabeth, can you open your eyes for me?" A doctor murmured and Betty let out a weak moan. She kept her eyes shut though, it was too much of a struggle to do anything. Even breathing felt hard to do. _

"_She goes by Betty," Betty felt admiration flicker inside her at her mother's voice. _

"_Alright, Betty… can you open your eyes?"_

_Betty felt her heart race, pain tightening around her heart like a vine. Her head began to burn, feeling as if it was being crushed under the weight of everything. From then on, the pain started making its way down her veins. It burned her heart, then her ribs and lungs. _

_Betty let herself fall away, into the darkness. That's when the pain started to fade, and she invited it. _

"You okay?" Jughead whispered to Betty and she nodded. She felt relieved that her memory hadn't caused a scene.

"I think so, will the ambulance be here soon?" she asked and felt a calming emotion flow through her. If anything, the flashback had made things almost… better. Betty felt- if anything- stronger now. What had happened had been horrible, but if she couldn't move on, then what was the point in having survived at all?

Veronica blinked slowly and looked up as ambulance sirens wailed in the distance. "Oh, Betty…" she started and looked down to her hand. Betty followed her gaze. In Veronica's tightly gripped hand was a scrap of paper. A note. She took it from Veronica's hand and opened it, reading the note.

Her heart stopped slightly at the words and Jughead took it from her hands, reading it before swallowing hard and swearing under his breath.

"I'm going to end him," and Betty wasn't sure who had said it, herself or Jughead. All she knew was that it was true and it was what was going to happen. Betty had to give herself up without Jughead knowing. It was her or him.

And _**she** was going to save **Jughead **_this time.

* * *

Archie sat down on the hospital bed beside Veronica. Her side was bandaged up greatly and she was looking at the wall with a conflicted expression.

"Arch?"

"Yeah?" He asked, looking over at her. Veronica narrowed her eyes and turned to look at Archie. "Do you know what was on that note?"

"No, why?"

"I almost died today," She started bluntly and Archie sucked in a breath. "The note said that Betty or Jughead will die. How long has it been since the explosion?"

"About two hours, the doctors said you healed well. Why?" The young man was barely able to keep himself from shooting Chic himself. First Betty and now Veronica? He was asking for a death threat.

Archie looked over at Veronica, whose face had gone pale. "Oh my god," she whispered weakly. "You need to go. Get to them before… oh my god…" panic flooded her gaze. "They're going to sacrifice themselves. Go save them."

The young man nodded quickly and kissed Veronica quickly. "I'll do it. Stay safe,"

Veronica offered a weak smile, too tense and stressed out to find his humor amusing.

Archie pushed open the door and shut the door before getting his phone out. One text message, from Betty.

_**Betty: At least I can say goodbye officially now. Don't let anyone stop living their lives just because I'm gone. **_

The young man felt his stomach twist and he raced out to his car. Archie had to save Betty and Jughead from being so damn selfless.

* * *

_**A/N: That was a long wait ^^ **_

_**There should be one more chapter left in this book. There will be a book two, a Bughead mystery. While both books will not be directly connected, there will be pieces that only make sense if you have read this book. It'd be greatly appreciated if you would check that book out once it comes out. Thank you for reading and all the reviews! **_

_**I will post the next chapter of this book after six reviews. **_


	13. Chapter 13: Closed Book

**Chapter Thirteen : Closed Book**

Veronica watched Archie leave with a face twisted with agony and suspense. She looked around the hospital, eyes narrowed. It felt lonely and dark, despite all the lights in the room.

"Veronica, I came as soon as I could... you poor thing..."

The young woman looked up at her mother, who had rushed in with a distressed look. "I'm fine," Veronica started and offered a distracted smile. Relief washed over the Latina in her mother's presence.

"No, you're not…" Hermione frowned and sat on the edge of the hospital bed.

Veronica felt her eye twitch in annoyance and sat up. Barely suppressing a flinch in agony and pain, she rubbed her forehead and swallowed her annoyance. How did her mother always know how she felt?

"Mom, I need you to listen to me…" she whispered quietly. She barely suppressed the urge to grimace at the idea of needing help.

Hermione narrowed her eyes in concern and raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Tell me how soon I can get out of this hospital? I hate it here," Veronica half-joked, voice strained. Hermione smiled lightly.

"Soon,"

* * *

Betty kept her head ducked slightly as she walked down the sidewalk. Her hands were shoved inside her jean pockets and she adjusted the Serpent jacket she was wearing.

"_I've got to go visit Veronica," the young woman murmured._

_Jughead turned his gaze to Betty, eyes narrowed with disbelief. "Don't act like I didn't read that note too," he sighed, rubbing his temple. _

_Betty sucked in a breath and shut her eyes tightly. "Jug, you read the note. You know what I have to do…" She whispered and Jughead stepped forward as he placed a hand on her shoulder. Betty barely managed to pacify her PTSD at the sudden touch. "I'm never going to be the same…"_

"_Betts, don't think like that…" Jughead sighed shakily and Betty looked at him with an apathetic expression. _

"_I love you, and I'm sorry…" Betty started, looking at the fading ambulance truck. Once it was out of view, Betty looked at his trailer. She narrowed her eyes, "Is that…" she trailed off, adding worry to her tone. _

_As she suspected, Jughead glanced behind him and looked at the trailer. "What?" he asked. In the moments he wasn't looking at her, Betty scrambled away, running behind a trailer. Once hidden from Jughead's view, she took a deep breath and raced away. _

_Jughead called after her, "Betty!" _

"_I'm sorry!" Betty called over her shoulder as she ran. _

Betty shook her head, clearing the memory from her mind. She loved him, and she needed to keep him safe no matter what. Unshed tears stung her eyes as she entered the cemetery.

The graves planted neatly in the ground made Betty's stomach twist. It was summer, the warm breeze blowing against her face and ruffling through her hair. When she gave Chic to the Black Hood, it had been winter. It was hard to believe that everything had happened only five months ago.

"Jughead let you choose yourself?" Betty winced at the voice and turned around.

Chic was looking at her with a dark sneer. Betty felt the hairs on her neck stand up and she rubbed her shoulders. "He doesn't know,"

"Ah, of course," Chic stepped forward and the young woman glanced at his jacket. His right hand was in his pocket, with a gun.

Betty raised her chin slightly and narrowed her eyes. "You've gone downhill," she commented, not breaking her mask and not showing how scared she was.

"It's been so long hasn't it?" Chic answered simply and looked out in the distance.

Everything seemed so serene, so calm. The moonlight offered its rays, moonlight glistening on the gravestones. Betty kept her gaze on Chic, not looking away even though he had turned away from her.

"So why the hesitation?" Betty growled, fighting her rage. If she was going down, she would take him with her.

Chic pulled the gun from his pocket looked at it as if examining it. Betty squared her shoulders, panic thudding in her chest.

_I love you, Jughead… _Betty thought and closed her eyes tightly.

_**Bang...**_

_**Bang...**_

* * *

Jughead felt his hands shaking, Betty had left not even thirty minutes ago, and he felt so useless. He fell into the couch with a defeated and angry breath.

"_Hey, Betty?" Jughead asked as the two were sitting together on Betty's bed. _

_He had his arm around her and she leaned into his chest, looking conflicted. "Yeah?" she asked simply. Betty sat up straight and tightened her ponytail. Jughead kissed her forehead and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, which she invited despite her confusion. _

"_What happened… with Chic?"_

_Betty tensed and was silent for a moment. "He left, he's gone. Does anything else matter?"_

_Jughead pulled away from the hug to look at Betty closer. She looked back into his gaze, not en the slightest bit unsettled by his questioning look. _

"_Please?" The young man pleaded and Betty blinked, looking at her room's wall. _

"_I took him to… to the cemetery… and gave him to the Black Hood," Betty finally answered and Jughead was quiet, in case she went into more detail. _

_She didn't. Instead, she kissed him on the lips and stood up. "He's gone, that's all that matters."_

Jughead felt the memory race through him and he sucked in a breath. Pulling out his phone as he threw open the trailer door. The remaining fragments of Fred's truck still scattered in the opening. Jughead ignored the wreck as he got on his bike, fastening his helmet quickly.

"Archie," Jughead started when the young man answered immediately.

"Yeah, Jug? Where are you? I'm on my way over now…"

"No, go to the cemetery… Betty's there," The Serpent King whispered as he tore away on his bike after hanging up.

In less than a minute, he was on the road and breaking the speed limit, practically going double what the limit was.

"Slow down, Jones!" Chuck called out in a parked car on the side of the road. Jughead ignored him, increasing the car speed. His hands burned from his death grip on the handles and his hair whipped across his face. Still, the pain seemed so distant that Jughead pressed on.

Once he reached Riverdale, he slowed down slightly, weaving through the small amount of traffic to the cemetery.

_Almost… there…_ Jughead thought, hope tightening around his heart.

_**Bang…**_

_**Bang…**_

Jughead heard the gunshots and the color in his face left in a flash. Reaching the cemetery, he parked the bike and raced into the graved field. If Betty was dead… Jughead pushed the thought away.

Racing through the field of graves, Jughead stopped when he saw blood, and a body crumpled on the ground.

"No, go to the cemetery… Betty's there,"

Then Jughead had hung up, leaving Archie at a loss for words. "Dammit, Chic," he growled. That monster had caused enough grief. Turning around, Archie ran down the sidewalk, towards the cemetery.

It was a place that nobody ever really visited, at times Archie even forgot Riverdale had a cemetery. Remembering all the deaths recently, Archie frowned and shook his head.

Riverdale, the town once full of safety, full of love… his Riverdale. Now it was the place traveling websites say to stay very clear of.

The gun in Archie's bag felt so heavy, he wasn't sure if he really wanted another death to take place in the town. Then he thought back to how long Betty had missing, what she had gone through, what Chic had put _everybody _through. The freak deserved to die.

Archie pushed onwards, running faster.

When he saw the cemetery in the distance, he narrowed his eyes. His lungs throbbed but he was, and he thanked the fact that he was well built.

_**Bang…**_

_**Bang…**_

Archie stopped as if a wall had appeared suddenly to hinder him from going to Betty. The young man blinked slightly, his mouth had gone dry and the color drained from his face. In a flash, his shock was gone and he raced forward. Sprinting now, he covered twice the distance he had been.

When he saw Jughead entering the cemetery as well, with a lost, concerned, angry look Archie hurried over.

About to say something to Jughead, Archie followed the Serpent's gaze. On the lush hill near the graves, Betty stood over a limp body.

* * *

Betty lowered the gun, looking at it with a look of sheer surprise. She had brought her gun, but she hadn't expected to really use it. It was just- at the moment- with Chic rambling on she couldn't take it.

"Betty!" Jughead gasped and the young woman turned to look at her boyfriend with a relieved gaze.

Every muscle in her relaxed at the sight of him. She dropped the gun in the grass beside Chic's body and ran into Jughead's arms. In the corner of her eyes, she saw Archie staring at the body on the ground.

"I didn't kill him," Betty began and Jughead looked into her eyes. "I shot him in the spinal cord twice…" she added after a moment. The two young men still looked unsure. She didn't blame them after all, Chic was bleeding so greatly and he looked dead. "Once to get him to stop talking, a second time because of what he has done to me.

"It shouldn't kill him. I'll call an ambulance. It'll be a hell of a hospital bill for him to pay and he'll be paralyzed from the waist down, but he'll live. "

Archie pulled out his phone and Betty assumed he was calling an ambulance.

Betty looked back to Jughead, into his warm eyes. A smile flickered across the Serpents face and he kissed her softly. "I love you, you know that right?" he asked and she smiled softly.

"You won't let me forget," the young women smirked before looking down at Chic's body. Grief flooded her gaze and she adjusted her Serpent jacket. "Can we leave?"

"I'd like that," Jughead sighed, casting a dark shadowy look at the limp body. "What are you going to tell everyone?"

"Self defense," she answered easily and held onto his hand. "Come on," she whispered, walking him out of the cemetery. She knew Archie was going to stay until the ambulance got there, but she wouldn't.

For all she cared, _Chic could die_. Rotting in a cell just didn't seem like a good enough penalty for his crimes. Then she frowned, sighing shakily. Her father had practically said those exact same words once. Betty pursed her lips and kept her gaze trained on the ground. Blood freckled her shoes.

"Betts…" Jughead started, putting his hand on his shoulder and getting her to face him. "You did the best thing you could've done in that scenario…" When she didn't make eye contact he sighed and put his forehead to hers. "You're _not _your father."

Betty felt warm, comforted in Jughead's presence.

"You're right. I'm not," Jughead narrowed his eyes, knowing she was going to continue. "And this chapter of our lives… we're ending it right now." Betty finished, voice strong with emotion.

Jughead looked in her eyes, and he could see the love, the hate, the warmth, the cold glow in her eyes. Then she kissed him, warm and affectionate.

But once opened, can a book ever truly be completely forgotten?

* * *

"_That's all you can do in this world, no matter how strong the current beats against you, or how heavy your burden, or how tragic your love story. You keep going."_

_Robyn Schneider_

* * *

_**A/N: There it is! Finished! I would've done an epilogue but since there will be a book two, I can't. Review what you would want to see in the book two and what I could improve on as a writer. The new book will be called "A**__**cquiesce, A Riverdale Mystery (Bughead)" Thank you so much for reading my book and all the reviews. Your guys' support means everything to me! ^^**_


	14. Author's Note

Thank you all so much for sticking around to the end. I just wanted to thank everyone one of you for your continued support and reviews. If you enjoyed this book I would really appreciate if you would check out my new book, "Acquiesce, A Riverdale Mystery (Bughead)" It is pretty much a book two of "Fourteen Days" but could also work as a stand-alone, there are just parts in Acquiesce that would only make sense if you've read Fourteen Days. Once again, I want to thank you all so much and tell you that the second book's first chapter is out. Please read it and give reviews, thank you!

-TheTownWithPep


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